


I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

by HockeyRPFFan



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Christmas Decorations, Christmas Dinner, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, F/M, If it's a Christmas topic it'll probably be in one of the chapters lol, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-09-05 06:12:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 22,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16805041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HockeyRPFFan/pseuds/HockeyRPFFan
Summary: A 25 Days of Christmas set of one shots, with a new Christmas story each day of December till Christmas!





	1. "You call this decorated?"

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> First off - yes, I am still working on the Titanic AU. It's been on the back burner for me as I finish the semester, and I'm planning to have it completed for posting hopefully by the new year. On to this story...
> 
> So after what has been a drama-filled past few days on social media, I figured we could all use some Christmas cheer - and some Tessa and Scott fluff. I stumbled upon a “Festive Prompt List” on Tumblr last night (I’m the worst and just took screenshots and didn't save the link - whoops), and decided to pick out 25 prompts and do a 25 Days of Christmas!
> 
> Each day of December, I am planning to post a little one shot that is Christmas themed. The setting and year will change with each chapter, including a few AU’s and possibly a few guest appearances from my VM children I wrote.
> 
> So without further ado, here is chapter one! Enjoy!

Day 1: “You call this decorated?”

Canton, December 2009

They’ve only been back from the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo for a few days, the bitter taste of silver still on their tongues. The winter air is frigid, and rattles the window panes on Tessa’s Canton townhouse. 

It doesn’t feel any warmer inside to Tessa, with thick ice packs pressed to her shins and calves. It seems like the chill of winter follows her wherever she goes lately, and she wishes that the cold would numb her burning legs. She’s nestled herself under a thick, white sherpa blanket to combat the chilliness of her living room, along with a mug of hot chocolate in hand. 

The hot chocolate warms her perpetually cold fingers, and she lets her eyes drift shut as she inhales the rich sent. Pounding on her front door makes her jump, nearly sloshing the dark liquid onto her pristine blanket. She groans, setting the mug onto her coffee table and pulling the blanket off. Her ice packs slide off the couch to the floor as she gets up. 

She peeps through the frosted glass, and can make out a head of dark hair bouncing from one foot to the other. 

“Tess! It’s freaking freezing out, let me in!” The figure calls, and Tessa cracks the door open. Scott pushes his way past her, shivering. “Took you long enough.”

“I would have left the door unlocked if I’d known you were coming.” Tessa says, rolling her eyes. “And I was icing my legs, it took me a second to get up.”

“Oh.” Scott says, wincing. “Sorry. You can go back to doing that if you need to.”

Tessa crosses her arms, the cool air that had come in with Scott making her shiver. “You haven’t told me why you’re here yet.”

“Can’t two partners hang out on a wintery Saturday night?” Scott asks, shrugging. 

Tessa arks an eyebrow at him. “So I take it Jessica couldn’t come this weekend.”

Scott at least has the decency to look sheepish as he runs a hand through his hair. 

“Maybe.” Scott says, walking past her into the living room. “Anyway, I thought we could just hang out and watch a movie.” 

He pauses as he gets to the center of the room. “Um, Tess?”

“Yeah?” She asks, moving around him to pick up her ice packs. She wipes at the damp patches they’ve left on the carpet. 

“Where are your Christmas decorations?” Scott asks, looking around the room. She looks around too, and shrugs. 

“I’ve got some white lights on the mantel and a vanilla candle on the table.” She points out. “I decorated.”

Scott scrunches up his nose at her. “You call this decorated? A candle and a single strand of lights?”

“We just got back from Japan and I’m not exactly focused on Christmas. Prepping for the Olympics seemed a little more important than setting up a tree.” Tessa tells him. 

“I guess.” Scott frowns again at her stand of lights, and then sets up her TV for the movie. 

\-------------  
As much as physiotherapy helps take an edge off the pain in her legs, it also sucks Tessa has decided. The nights get darkly quickly during this time of year, and she feels like she’s constantly living in darkness. She’s either at the rink in a treatment room at the crack of dawn or in a doctor’s office in the evening.

She tries to remember the last time she actually saw the sun as she drives home in the dark. Her neighbors Christmas lights twinkle as a light snow swirls in the wind. On autopilot she pulls her car up outside her house, and gathers her bag out of the back seat. She fiddles with her keys, her fingers numb with the cold, and drops them on the ground. 

“Ugh.” She groans, reaching down to pick them up. It isn’t till she stands back up that she notices the strands of Christmas lights adorning her bushes. Her front window has a small tree in it, the white lights twinkling softly and glittery ornaments reflecting the light against the glass. 

She unlocks her front door with shaky hands, and leaves her bag by the door as she walks into her living room. The room glows with the lights from the Christmas tree, and additional lights have been strung up her banister and across the windows. A white stocking has been hung off of her TV stand, her name written in messy, silver glitter glue.

“I didn’t think you’d be home yet.” A voice says from the floor, and Tessa looks behind the couch to see Scott fiddling with a tangled strand of silver beads. 

“It’s almost seven o’clock.” She says. “How long have you been here?”

“A lot longer than I thought apparently. I wanted to have it all done to surprise you.” He pouts.

She smiles softly and moves around the couch to sit next to him. “You already have, Scott. This is too sweet of you.”

He puffs his chest out in pride. “I thought you could use some Christmas cheer. I tried to stick with the white and silver look you had going with your minimalist decorations before.”

She elbows him in the side, hard enough for him to know to lay off her sad decorations, but light enough for him to know she appreciates his work. He smiles at her, and focuses back on the tangled strands. 

“How about I work on that and you order us some pizza, my treat.” Tessa suggests, pulling the beads out of his hands. 

“What would Marina say?! Pizza a month and half before the Olympics?” Scott mocks, pressing a hand to his chest. Tessa giggles and rolls her eyes as Scott walks towards her kitchen. She finishes up with the beads, and places them neatly on the coffee table for Scott to deal with when he comes back in.

She looks around the room and takes in the soft white light and the silver glitter, and finds that the chill of the room has disappeared and the bitter taste of silver is gone from her mouth. Instead she finds she doesn’t mind the color so much when it’s attached to a good memory. For once, she doesn’t feel so cold.


	2. “My house, my rules. The Christmas music stays on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's technically December 2 where I am, so I figured why not post the next chapter and keep this Christmas train rolling?

Day 2: “My house, my rules. The Christmas music stays on.”

London, December 2018

Scott knows that Tessa has spent Christmas in her London house before. He’s seen the pictures of Tessa, her siblings and all their friends dancing around the kitchen island on Christmas Eve from a few years prior. He knows Kate always helps Tessa decorate, even when they were hundreds of miles away training for the next competition and would only get to spend a day or two at home.

This year is different. They’re settled back in London and Ilderton, respectively, and surrounded by their families during the holidays for what is literally the first time in years. They’d both taken full advantage of it, joining in on every little family outing they could. 

Scott had already taken Charlie’s kids to a holiday skate in London, and the whole family had gone to get Christmas trees at a tree farm together. Based on her texts, Tessa had been doing much of the same. She’d taken Poppy to get gifts for her mom and dad, and she’d joined her sister-in-laws and Kate in making Christmas cookies (which had mostly been Tessa keeping everyone’s wine glasses full and the music flowing from what Scott could tell).

He pulls his car up to Tessa’s on a chilly Sunday afternoon, ready to help Tessa set up her own Christmas tree. She’s left her Christmas lights on, and Scott thanks his lucky stars he didn’t have to climb on her roof to put them up (that had been Casey’s job this year). He doesn’t even bother knocking, just strolls right in.

“The tree box is in the living room.” He hears Tessa call from her back family room. 

“I see how it is. You ask me to help you and then you don’t even greet me. I'm hurt, T.” He calls back, slipping off his shoes. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” Tessa mocks him as she makes her way to the front living room. “I was getting all my ornaments sorted so once you get the tree up we can decorate.”

“I don’t think I ever said anything about decorating your tree.” Scott says, glancing over his shoulder at her as he uses his car key to cut the tape on the tree box. Tessa pouts at him, her eyes going all puppy dog and he knows he’s done for. He’s a sucker for anything she wants him to do when she pulls that face. 

“I’ll let you pick the movie for tonight if you stay and decorate.” Tessa tries to bargain. “Or you can have some of the Christmas cookies I made.”

He raises an eyebrow at her. 

“Okay...that my mom made.”

He lets out a loud, dramatic sigh. “I guess if Kate’s cookies are involved it’ll be worth staying and helping you.”

Tessa hugs him for behind, and Scott presses a kiss to her arm. “Alright, get off. I’ve got a tree to put up.”

She releases him, and all but skips back down the hallway to her family room. It’s quiet for a while, just the sounds of him lifting the tree parts and putting them together mixed with the sounds of her rustling tissue paper around. 

“Christmas music okay?” Tessa calls out to him. 

“Perfect.” He replies. He gets the ladder set up, and is just about to place the top section of the tree in when the first few notes of music float down the hallway. “She didn’t…”

The Hall and Oates Christmas album blasts at full volume, and Scott misses the slot for the tree entirely. He corrects his balance, and gets the tree in on the second try.

He follows the music down the hall and leans and against the door frame. Tessa’s dancing around the living room, and placing ornaments into clearly some sort of system that’s she determined to categorize them by. Her hair is up in a messy top knot, her face free of makeup and the sleeves of her Thank You Canada Tour crew neck pushed up. 

She doesn’t seem to notice him watching until she nearly slips on the hardwood in her fuzzy Christmas socks. 

“Watch yourself there, Tess.” He says, shaking his head at her. She sets the ornament in her hand down after what appears to be some careful consideration between two piles. “Of all the Christmas music you could chose, you went with this album?”

“You knew my taste in music before I asked if I could put some on.” She tells him as she bends over to grab a few more ornaments out of the box. 

“But Hall and Oates?” He moans. “Can’t you find something, I don’t know, a little more traditional?”

Tessa straightens up with a very pointy icicle ornament in hand that she brandishes at him, and fixes him with a steely look. “My house, my rules. The Christmas music stays on.”

Scott puts his hands up in surrender. He knows when a fight is pointless with her, and this is one of those times. “Tree’s ready for you to decorate.”

“Oh good, cause I think I’m all done sorting my ornaments.” She tells him, and then grabs his hands and pulls him into the middle of her family room. “So this pile is all the silver ornaments, and this one is the gold. I thought it would be a good idea to separate them so we can get an even spread across the tree. Now this pile…”

Scott zones out as he watches the look of concentration on her face as she explains her reasoning. It’s a look he’s seen often over the 21 years he’s known her. One he’s seen on the ice as she works through new choreography, or off the ice as she types away at a term paper. It’s a look he loves because it’s the face Tessa makes when she’s at her most brilliant - though she’s always brilliant to him.

He thinks in 2019 maybe he’ll finally have the courage to tell her that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you all enjoyed. 
> 
> While I've picked all 23 prompts left, I'd love to hear what you guys would like to see included!


	3. “How on earth did you get tinsel there?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Day Three!
> 
> This chapter is set in my AU story “Storm Clouds May Gather, Stars May Collide,” and features my VM children. It’s not necessary you read that story first!

Day Three: “How on earth did you get tinsel there?”  
Montréal, December 2022

With Tori now two-years-old, Tessa had been determined to try and include in her some of the festivities of the holidays. Between icing cookies and taking her to pick out gifts for Scott, she’d felt she’d done a pretty good job of including Tori in preparing for Christmas. 

One of the last things that needed done was decorating the tree. She’d long packed away the fragile glass ornaments that used to adorn her tree and instead invested in shatterproof plastic baubles.

“Here Tori, we’re going to put these on our Christmas tree.” Tessa tells her as she hands an ornament to Tori.

“Pretty.” Tori coos as she cups the ornament with both hands. “On tree?”

“Yes, we’re putting them on our tree.” Tessa replies as she hangs one. “See?”

Tori walks up to the tree and places the ornament on a branch. It rolls off and bounces when it hits the floor, making Tori burst into giggles.

“Oh well.” Tessa sighs to herself, and groans as she bends down around her sixth-month baby bump to pick up the ornament. “Let me find you something else to do.” 

Tessa grabs a piece of paper, quickly scribbles a Christmas trees shape, and hands Tori a crayon and the page. “Here sweetheart, can you draw me some ornaments?”

Tori nods, and plops down on the floor and begins to scribble. With her toddler occupied, she goes back to decorating the tree. She glances at Tori every so often to make sure her coloring isn’t getting to ambitious and spreading to anything other than the page, but Tori seems focused on her own tree.

After twenty minutes Tessa steps back to admire her work, and nods with a smile. Scott refused to get the ladder out for her since he didn’t want her on it, so the top of the tree was left for him to take care of. She turns around to grab the pack of tinsel Scott had insisted on, only to find Tori pulling it apart. 

“Mommy, sparkles!” Tori squeals, and Tessa can’t help but laugh. 

“I see them! Those are for the tree.” Tessa tells her, and pries a few of the sparkly strands from Tori’s sticky fingers. “Can you help me put them on the tree?”

Tori nods, and throws her fistful at one of the branches. It’s not neat and tidy like Tess would like it but it does reflect the lights nicely, so Tessa decides it’ll do. 

“Wow, what a pretty tree.” Scott says loudly as he comes in the front door.

“Daddy, look!” Tori yells as she jumps up in down in excitement. 

Scott toes his shoes off and then walks up to the tree. “It’s beautiful baby girl, did you help mommy decorate?”

Tori nods and then hands him the piece of paper she’d been so focused on. “I draw!” 

“I think this should go on the fridge. Should we go hang it up?” Scott asks, and Tori squeals and pulls it out of his hands, and then hightails it to the kitchen.

“Hi.” Scott turns to Tessa with a soft smile. “I’m assuming the top is for me to do.”

“Of course. Some of us aren’t allowed to be on a ladder.” Tessa replies, letting him pull her against him.

“Hey, I’m just trying to protect our unborn son.” He quips and places a smacking peck to her cheek. She pushes him off with a giggle. 

“Mommy, daddy, come on!” Tori calls from the kitchen, and they both laugh. 

———————————  
After an evening filled with Scott finishing the top of the tree, Tori demanding to watch Frosty the Snowman (for the fifth time that week), and a dinner of roast beef, they’d finally gotten Tori upstairs to get ready for bed. 

Scott had offered to bathe Tori so Tessa could shower, and Tessa never turned down the chance to have a relaxing shower that didn’t involve tiny fingers and a multitude of bath toys. 

She’s just finished wet braiding her hair when she hears Scott’s booming laugh from Tori’s bathroom. Tessa tosses on her bathrobe, securing the tie over the top of her baby bump, and walks down the hallway. 

“How on earth did you get tinsel there, monkey?” Tessa can hear Scott ask Tori, and when she peaks in the door her jaw drops. 

Scott’s just gotten Tori out of her outfit from the day, and Tori stands their giggling with what has to be a third of the bag of tinsel sticking out of her diaper. 

“I KNEW that bag should have covered more of the tree.” Tessa says as she walks into the room. Tori doesn’t seem bothered, and twirls her fingers around the sparkly strands poking out the top of her diaper and sticking to her stomach. 

“Alright my sparkly girl, let’s get your diaper off and get a bath.” Scott says as he undos the diaper tabs. Wads of tinsel are stuck to both the diaper and Tori, to the point where it looks like she’s got a tinsel diaper on. 

“Tori, why did you put the tinsel in your diaper?” Tessa asks her, getting down on her knees to look her daughter in the eye.

Tori reaches out and places her hands on Tessa’s cheeks, her little face serious. “It sparkly, mommy.” 

Scott cracks up laughing, which then sets off Tori. Tessa can’t remain serious when faced with her two favorite people’s giggles. She joins them, laughing until tears stream down her face and the baby jumps around in her belly.

“It’s very sparkly, sweetheart.” Tessa says as she wipes the tears from her cheeks and rubs at her stomach. “But tinsel is for trees, not Tori’s, okay?”

“Okay mommy.” Tori says and pulls one strand of tinsel off herself at a time. 

Scott smiles at Tessa over Tori’s head, and she shrugs in response. Their daughter is so mischievous - something she swears comes from Scott and not her. She hopes maybe their son will be calmer. 

But who is she kidding - they both know their son will be a Moir boy through and through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. "I thought we weren't doing gifts!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to day four!
> 
> Nothing is more fun than going to preview a chapter you've been editing for 30 minutes and Ao3 just flat out eats it. Ugh. 
> 
> Anyway...this chapter is a little angsty but does have a happy ending!
> 
> Also I read a fic recently where Scott uses his Sochi medals as hockey pucks and LOVED the idea, so I borrowed it for this fic. I can't for the life of me remember who the author was - so I hope it's okay with whoever first came up with the idea!

Day Four: "I thought we weren't doing gifts!"

Ilderton, December 2015 

After a quick stop for Holiday Festival on Ice in Kingston and then practice in Montreal with Marie and Patch, Scott was happy to be back in Ilderton for Christmas. While it hadn’t been announced yet, he and Tessa were returning to competition next season, and he knew it was likely the last time he’d be able to spend the days before and after Christmas at home for a few years. 

Christmas was a big Moir family event. Alma would meticulously plan out their days before and after Christmas and would email everyone in the family a detailed plan that was not up for debate. Scott understood it - his mom missed her boys and they were all busy with their families, or career in Scott’s case. 

This year’s festivities included sledding Christmas Eve morning, a soup dinner, midnight mass, presents Christmas morning, Christmas brunch, a few Christmas movies in the afternoon and then a big Christmas dinner. Boxing Day was reserved for skating at the rink, playing in the snow and eating all the leftovers. It wasn’t fancy or involved a whole lot of traveling, but it was tradition. 

That’s why Scott was dressed in snow pants, an old Canada puffer jacket and a 2010 Vancouver toque at far too early in the morning Christmas Eve day with a flimsy plastic sled in hand and his niece on his hip. Danny had already tackled him down the hill once, and Scott was feeling more and more his age each time he had to trek back up the hill.

“Faster, Uncle Scott!” His niece crowed and he hustled the last few steps, never one to disappoint. 

After what felt like hours later, he was finally showered and cozy in his bed. He still had hours before dinner, and fully intended to use the time to nap. He’d been dozing off and on in his childhood bedroom, the warm winter sun coming in the window making him drowsy. He distantly hears the doorbell ringing and the sounds of the kids excited downstairs, but nothing short of the house being on fire would drag him from his bed. A soft knock on the door echoes through the room, and he grunts. 

He assume whoever was there went away until he hears the soft click of the door opening and closing. He assumes it’s Charlotte or maybe his mom until the warm scent of strawberries graces his nose. 

“Hey, T.” He mumbles, his face still half pressed into his pillow. 

“How’d you know it was me?” Tessa asks, sitting down on the edge of the bed. 

“Can smell your hair.” He tells her, rolling onto his back to stretch. She blushes and pushes a piece of hair behind her ear. “Did you come for dinner?”

Tessa shakes her head. “My siblings and mom are coming to my place tonight. I wanted to stop by though and see your parents.”

“Ah, so I’m chopped liver.” Scott jokes, pulling himself upright and making a space for Tessa to sit next to him. She slides in under the covers next to him, pressing her cold toes into his leg.

“I don’t think I’d come back to competition just for chopped liver.” She says, nudging his arm. “I wanted to see you too. I have something for you.”

Scott side eyes her. “I thought we weren’t doing gifts! We never do gifts.” 

Tessa shrugs, and reaches over the edge of the bed. Scott keeps a protective hand on her hip in case she loses her balance, but she keeps balanced and comes back up with a gift bag. 

“I didn’t really get you anything really. I kind of took something?” Tessa says, and gives him a sheepish expression. 

“You took something?” He repeats. “What'd you steal, Virtch?”

“I didn’t steal anything! Your mom helped me.” She tells him quickly, and then smacks a hand to her forehead. “Damn it. She didn’t want me to tell you she was involved.”

“It’s a good thing you just steal from me, T, cause you’d be the worst robber.” He says fondly, pulling the tissue paper out of the top of the gift bag. Two heavy somethings are wrapped in icy blue wrapping paper, and he sets them both in his lap. Tessa is eyeballing them like they might explode, which does nothing to tell him what the objects are. 

“Oh my god, would you open them already.” She huffs.

He picks up one in each hand, testing the weight out just to bother her. “Which one should I open first?”

“It doesn’t matter, just open one.” Tessa says, wringing her hands. He puts her out of her misery and tears through the paper in the same manner his nieces and nephews will in the morning. A dark box sits in his hands once all the wrapping paper is gone, and he looks up at Tessa. 

“Go on.” She encourages. He lifts the lid off the box and it feels like his heart drops to his stomach. Nestled inside the box in some soft material is one of his Sochi silver medals. The last time he’d seen them he’d been drunk off his ass at the Ilderton rink. He was so angry and lost in the months after the Olympics, and he'd been sick of seeing the stupid medals in his sock drawer. He’d taken them out and stuffed them inside a box in the bed of his truck without a second thought one afternoon, forgetting they were there for weeks.

He’d gotten spectacularly drunk one night, and while searching for his hockey stick to mess around with at the rink, he’d found the medals again. Using his keys to cut the ribbons off, he’d spent hours shooting the medals into a hockey net. His stick broke eventually, and he’d laid down on the ice and stared up at the lights. His mom found him that way hours later, and he hadn’t even thought to ask her where the medals ended up. 

“How did you get these?” He asks Tessa quietly, rubbing his thumb over the shiny surface. 

“Your mom found them, and she told me what happened. I got them fixed up. The ribbons are a little shorter and a few of the scratches wouldn’t come out but they turned out pretty good.” Tessa explains. 

“Why?” Scott asks, looking up at her. “I mean I clearly didn’t care about them in the first place.”

“Because I know you, and you do care.” Tessa says, dropping her head to rest on his shoulder. “I know how hurt and angry you were, and still are. But we get a second chance, Scott.”

He opens the second box, and lets both medals sit in his lap. They don’t feel as heavy as they did in Sochi and the taste of silver isn’t as prominent on his tongue anymore. 

“We’ve accomplished so much, you know? Silver wasn’t what we wanted but it’s not the end anymore. Our story isn’t over. We can use these as motivation to never let that happen to us again.” Tessa says. 

Scott blinks back the tears that spring to his eyes and tries to swallow around the lump his throat. Tessa must notice, because she presses a kiss to his shoulder, which does nothing to stop all the emotions tumbling around inside him. “You’ve always been the stronger one, T.”

She sits up and cups one of his cheeks in her hand. He leans in to the touch, savoring the feeling after months and months of them being disconnected. “Sometimes one of us has to be the strong one, and we take turns. That's why our partnership works, and that’s okay, you know? If I have to be the strong one this time, then that’s okay.”

Scott lets a few tears slid down his cheek, and Tessa wipes them away with a tender smile. “You asked why I’m giving you these now, and it's because I’m so proud of you.”

“Why would you be proud of me? I haven’t exactly been on my best behavior until the last few months.” He says, glancing away. Tessa presses her palm hard against his cheek, forcing him to look at her. 

“I’m proud of you because you came out on the other side of this whole mess, and that isn’t easy to do. I’ve been in that dark place before too.”

He knows that all too well. Remembers the days where her legs burned and he didn’t see her for months at a time. Remembers how she’d thrown up each time she had to take the ice because she was convinced she didn’t deserve to be there. They’d both been through hell and back since 2008.

“These medals are our past, Scott, and now we’re looking at our future. When 2015 ends, we get a whole new year to prove just how much we want to come back and how much we deserve to be there.” Tessa says. 

“I can’t wait.” He tells her, giving her a small smile. “You’re right too. I used to be so angry when I looked at these, and now I’m not. It’s just another medal. Thank you, T. For everything.”

Tessa smiles at him, making him feel warmer than the sun or his blankets had all day. “2016 is going to be our year.” 

He presses a kiss to her forehead, lingering to take a deep breath. She snuggles into him a little, and Scott can’t help but feel like things between them have finally healed after two long years. 

“Merry Christmas, Scott.” Tessa says softly, and he can feel her smiling against his side. 

“Merry Christmas, Tess.”


	5. “Please tell me you aren’t searching my room for where I’ve hidden the presents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> This chapter is set in Montreal in December 2016. I’m aware they went home for Christmas, but I ask you forget that for this chapter :)

Day Five: “Please tell me you aren’t searching my room for where I’ve hidden the presents.”

Montreal, Christmas Eve 2016  
Following a gold medal win at the Grand Prix Final (finally!), Tessa felt like she and Scott could afford to breath a little. They’d proved they were still as good, even better, than their last season. But, with their next competition just a month away she felt like they needed to keep the momentum going.

So, it had been decided she and Scott would stay in Montreal for Christmas and New Years. It would give them the opportunity to train more and not disrupt their schedule. It hadn’t been an easy decision, though, and definitely not one they made lightly. 

That’s why they were both spread out on opposite ends of the couch on Christmas Eve, staring up at the ceiling as Elf played in the background on her TV. Scott had bought a table top tree to put on her bookshelf, and she’d strung a strand of lights around her balcony railing in an attempt to make themselves feel a little more cheerful. 

“This is depressing.” Scott moans, letting his head fall back against the armrest. 

“Tell me about it.” She responds, rolling her ankles to release some of the soreness from their early morning gym session. Scott pulls her feet into his laps and massages at the sore spots. 

“What can we do to make this less sad?” Scott asks, and she shrugs. “We could make cookies.”

“I have no baking sheets, and they aren’t in our diet plan.” Tessa reminds him, and Scott sighs.

“We could decorate the tree.” Scott suggests, glancing over at the tiny pine tree with its sparse limbs. 

“I don’t have any ornaments.” She tells him. 

“Perfect!” He says quickly, and gets up with her legs still in his lap, which sends her rolling to the floor in a tangle of blankets. “We can make ornaments, T!”

She can’t help but smile at how excited he is, and she nods. “Okay.”

He dashes off to her kitchen, and she can hear him pulling things of her drawers as she untangles the blankets and gets up. “I’ve got some hair ties and stuff in the bathroom that might work.”

“Sounds good!” He calls back to her, and she stretches gently as she walks down the hall to her bathroom. 

She gathers a few colorful hair ties and headbands out of her cupboard, and is pondering if she can hang some of her necklaces off the tree without it snapping in half when she realizes she can’t hear Scott rummaging around anymore. From her 19 years of experience, a silent Scott meant he was up to something. 

She peeks her head out of the bathroom, and spots his legs sticking out from under her bed. 

“What are you doing?” She asks, and Scott jumps and curses as he bangs his head on her bed frame. 

“Nothing!” He says quickly, and tries to shimmy his way out. He sits back on his folded legs, his hair sticking straight up with static. “I was looking for more things to make ornaments with.”

Tessa arches an eyebrow. “Under my bed?”

Scott shrugs and blushes, and she knows she has him caught. “Please tell me you aren’t searching my room for where I’ve hidden the presents.”

“Uh...maybe?” Scott says, his voice cracking. There was a reason that Alma had sent Scott’s presents to Tessa’s apartment, and it was because they all knew Scott wouldn’t be patient enough to actually wait for Christmas to open them. 

“Scott Patrick!” Tessa says, giving him a stern look. “What would your mother say if she knew you were trying to spoil Christmas?”

“Nothing, because we aren’t going to tell her, right?” He asks, getting to his feet and attempting to hug her. She doesn’t take the bait, and shuffles around him, refusing to be distracted from what just happened. 

“Oh no you don’t.” She says, firmly planting a hand on his chest. “Did you really think I’d hide your presents under the bed? Come on, we both know I’m smarter than that.”

“Then lets marvel in your smarts together and you can show me just how how good a job you did at hiding them by showing me where they are.” Scott says, reaching for her again. He grabs her around the waist, and she goes limp in his arms to annoy him. 

“No.” She says, leaning back to make it harder for him to hold her. “Not till tomorrow.”

“Just one, please.” He begs, making puppy dog eyes at her as he adjusts his grip on her. “It can even be a small one.” 

Tessa stares him down, trying to figure out how annoying he’ll be all night if she doesn’t let him open at least one gift. She decides sacrificing one present will be necessary.

“Fine. One small gift and that’s it.” She says and he hugs her tightly to his chest. 

“Can I pick which one I get?” He asks, the grin on his face practically stretching from ear to ear.

She shakes her head. “You can go sit on the couch with your eyes closed and I’ll bring it to you.” 

He nods and runs down her hall, and Tessa shakes her head. The things she does for her skating partner...


	6. "Are you- are you pulling down the mistletoe?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it nearly December 7 and not the sixth anymore? Yes.  
> Did I have a busy day and not have time to write? Also yes.   
> Is this a little shorter than the past few chapters? Definitely - but I wanted to get it up today since I have a slightly busy day tomorrow too. 
> 
> Here is day six!

Day 6: “Are you- are you pulling down the mistletoe?”  
Canton, December 2006

Christmas at Arctic Edge was always less than cheerful. Scott hated how he couldn’t indulge in the Christmas food and drinks at parties, and he particularly hated only getting to spend a day or two at home before having to rush back to train. Marina certainly never made an effort to celebrate the holiday season, and Scott thinks she’d rather have them train straight through Christmas if she could. 

The office ladies had tried to give them all some homemade cookies, but Marina had dove in and taken the tin before he and Charlie could even pick one out. 

“Boys! Is not time for cookies, it’s time for skating. How will you lift the girls if only thing in your stomachs is sugar?” She had said sharply, pulling the tin from Charlie’s grasp. 

A few days later, Scott came into the rink to sprigs of mistletoe taped to every door frame, and none of the boys in the locker room would own up to it. 

“We all know it was you, Moir. Fess you!” Charlie jokes as he and Scott tie their skates. 

Scott scoffs. “Like hell. We all know it was you.” 

“I swear man, it wasn’t me. I want nothing to do with Marina’s war on Christmas.” Charlie says, pulling on his laces and quickly tying them. 

“It’s gotta be Fedor then, right?” Scott asks, standing up off the bench. “Probably trying to catch some girl under it.”

“Lord only knows which one.” Charlie says with an eye roll. Scott shakes his head in disgust because Charlie isn’t wrong. If Fedor wasn’t looking to make out with Tessa, then it had to be Meryl, or Tanith, or one of the other twenty some girls at the rink. 

They both exit the locker room together, chatting about the latest Detroit game as they head towards the ice. The sight that greets them at the boards stops them dead in their tracks. 

The rink is covered in Christmas decorations. Mistletoe is tapped all over the glass and boards, along with strands of lights, and a fake tree sits at center ice. Window clings of reindeers, snowmen and elves are scattered across the glass and wrapped boxes are placed all over the ice. 

“Marina’s going to shit.” Charlie cackles. A few other skaters join them, some laughing and others staring out at the rink in horror. “Alright, who put all this crap together?”

Most of the skaters shrug, looking amongst each other to try and pick out who the guilty one is. Scott notices Meryl looks pissed, probably about missing ice time, so he immediately rules her out. He knows most of the skaters gathered would be too scared to get on Marina’s bad side, so it can’t be any of them. 

“You don’t think Fedor did this, do you?” Scott asks Charlie, and Charlie shakes his head. 

“No way, even he knows better.” Charlie says. “I’d have guessed us honestly, but we both know we didn’t do it.”

Cursing echoes from down the hall, and everyone’s heads swivel to look down the long hallway. Marina has more than a few choice words for the dangling mistletoe over her office door, and she yanks it down. She moves on to the next doorframe, pulling each sprig off with a little more force than necessary. Tessa goes to leave the locker room at the same time Marina pulls down another offending sprig. 

Tessa catches herself before she runs into Marina, and Scott breathes a sigh of relief, because the last thing they need is for Tessa to accidentally kill Marina. 

“Are you- are you pulling down the mistletoe?” Tessa asks, frowning at the bunches of green in Marina’s hands. 

“Yes! Someone think it funny to put them on every door.” Marina grumbles, moving on to the next door. Tessa gives her a wide berth as she walks down the hall to stand with the rest of the skaters. She glances at the ice, and then back to Marina. Scott looks at Tessa, shocked by the fact that she wasn’t surprised by the state of the rink. 

He bends down, his mouth pressed to her ear. “Did you help with that? The rink?”

“No.” Tessa scoffs. “That’s all Tanith and Ben. The mistletoe though…” 

Scott pulls away from Tessa to look at her. “You did that?!”

She shakes her head, blushing. “I was annoyed with Marina trying to stop us all from celebrating Christmas. I mentioned it in passing to Tanith, and she showed up with a bag full of mistletoe this morning and told me to go for it. She and Ben did the whole rink though, I swear I had nothing to do with that.”

Scott can’t help the laugh that escapes him. His skating partner, sweet little Tessa Virtue who generally didn’t have a mean bone in her body, had pranked their skating coach. Marina whipped her head down the hall, narrowing her eyes at him. He gulped, because even he did not want to be on her bad side today. 

“Scott Moir, did you do this?” Marina asks, shaking her fist full of greenery at him. A few sprigs fall to the rubber flooring. 

“No ma’am.” He tells her. He can see Tessa biting the inside of her cheek beside him.

“Hmm.” Marina hums, glancing around at all the skaters. “What are you all doing? Get on the ice!” 

“Uh, we can’t.” Meryl tells her. “Someone decorated the rink.”

Marina looks at Meryl, and then shoves a few people out of the way to get a look at her beloved rink. It’s dead silent for a few moments, and Scott swears he can hear his heart beating. The slew of Russian curses that erupt from Marina make them all jump, and she yells at them as though if she yells loud enough then maybe they’ll understand Russian.

“Clean it up! All you!” Marina finally manages in English before walking down the hallway and slamming her office door shut. 

“Totally worth it.” Tanith whispers, and they all burst into laughter. It's a clatter of skates hitting the ice a few minutes later as everyone pitches in to pick up all the decorations. Scott thinks that even if Christmas sucks while in training, nothing beats the feeling of seeing Marina lose her shit over something he didn’t do for once.


	7. “Why are you so impossible to shop for?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never, right?
> 
> Expect tomorrow’s update to probably come on Sunday! I’ve got a family event and a few things to do, so unfortunately I probably won’t have time to write.

Day Seven: “Why are you so impossible to shop for?”  
London, December 2019

Scott is exhausted. After spending an entire afternoon at the mall trying to find a Christmas gift for Tessa, he’d finally returned home empty handed. He prides himself on how well he knows her, but the whole gift giving thing is still new to him. 

They never did gifts throughout their career, choosing to do little notes or outings instead. But, now that they were “officially” dating, Scott had thought that maybe it was finally time to break that tradition - an idea he was starting to regret. 

“Honey, I’m home!” Tessa sings as she walks in the front door, stamping her feet on the rug to dislodge the snow from her shoes. 

“In here.” Scott calls from the living room, and takes a swig of his well-deserved beer. 

“Yikes, you look tired.” Tessa says, her brows furrowing. She sits on the arm of the couch next to him, running a soothing hand through his hair.

“I went to the mall.” He tells her.

“You went to the mall?” She repeats. “I know you don’t do a lot of shopping, but the mall on the weekend before Christmas tends to be a little-.”

“Batshit crazy? So I found out.” Scott says with a sigh. 

“What were you doing there? I thought we got everything we needed for our families?” She asks. 

“I didn’t get anything for you yet.” Scott confesses. “I was trying to find something for you today. I’ve just got one question.”

Tessa nods for him to go ahead. 

“Why are you so impossible to shop for?” Scott asks and Tessa giggles. 

“I’m not impossible to shop for, Scott.” She replies. “You know what I like - anything related to books, chocolate, fashion or Paris is right up my alley.”

“But you have stuff like that already.” He whines. “I want to get you something unique. Something no one else has given you.” 

She smiles softly at him, and shakes her head. “You’ve given me two Olympic gold medals. I can honestly say no one else has given me any and they’re very unique.”

Scott scoffs, and shakes his head. “I’ve already given you those though. I gotta find something new.” 

She presses a kiss to his check and walks away towards the kitchen. “I’ll be happy with whatever you decide on.”

———————————  
The idea comes to Scott during a FaceTime session with Charlotte. She’d gleefully shown him all the crafts she’d made at school for Christmas (which had been banned from making the trip to Ilderton due to the amount of sparkles they would shed), and amongst the popsicle stick picture frames and sparkly paper snowflakes Scott knew exactly what he was going to get Tessa. 

He just had to make it first, which was why he was sitting at the desk in their home office before the sun was even up on the Sunday before Christmas. Tessa was still passed out in their bed, and would be at least for three more hours, giving him the perfect time to work on his gift. 

He’s deep into his work, surrounded by construction paper, markers, gel pens, stickers, ribbons and a hole punch, when he hears the floorboards in the hallway creak. The house is old, and as the heater kicked on it wasn’t unusually for the floors to creak a little. He focused back on using his best penmanship on the sheet of paper he was working on, determined to write legibly.

“Scott?” A sleepy voice called from outside the door. He scrambled to cover the sheets of paper in front of him, knocking a few to the floor as Tessa pushed open the door. 

“What are you doing up?” Scott asks quickly, rushing around the desk to try and block her view of all his supplies.

“The bed got cold without you in it.” Tessa pouts, and between her face and how cozy she looks in her fleece pajamas, Scott feels his heart melt. 

“Sorry, T.” He tells her, pressing a kiss to her head as he pulls her against his chest. She snuggles against him, and sighs contentedly. “I was working on your Christmas present and wanted to get it done before you got up.” 

“Is that what’s all over the floor?” She asks, looking at the scattered sheets of paper around them. 

“Yeah.” Scott moans. “It’s dumb. I decided to make you something.”

“I love when you make me things!” Tessa protests. “Handmade gifts are the best.” 

“You don’t even know what it is yet.” Scott points out, pulling away from her to pick up the papers. Tessa stills his hand before he can place them back on the desk. 

“Would you feel better about it if I had a sneak peek? That way I can tell you what I think.” Tessa explains. Scoff shakes his head at her, smiling, because he knows she just wants to see what he’s made.

“I guess. But only two pages, okay?” He says, and she nods. He hands over the pages to her, and he watches as she skims over the words. Her eyes tear up, and she beams at him. 

“Did you make me a personalized coupon book?” She asks, holding the pages to her chest. 

“Yeah.” He says, sheepishly. “Which pages did you get?”

She hands them over, and he sees the phrases “Good for one breakfast-for-dinner cooked by me, and we can have movie night too - your choice on the films” and “Good for one snuggle whenever you need it. Name the time and place.”

“It’s kind of sappy. I just couldn’t decide what to get you, and nothing seemed to be enough to show you how much you mean to me. Charlotte was showing me all her Christmas crafts, and I thought I’d borrow the idea.” He explains, rubbing a hand down his face. “We always complain about not getting enough time with just each other, so I figured I could make this for us. I don’t know, it’s stupid.” 

“It’s not stupid at all.” Tessa tells him, setting down the pages and then wrapping her arms around his neck. “It’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

She pulls him in for a kiss, and the two of them stand there against the desk for what feels like hours. 

“Now I really can’t wait for Christmas. I’m dying to know what the rest of the pages say.” Tessa says, glancing at the desk behind him. 

He shifts her back against his chest. “You got your sneak peek, no more looking!”

She giggles against him, and he thinks that this moment right here is exactly why he wants to spend as much time with her as he can for the rest of his life.


	8. "What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, it's been a hot minute you guys...and now I'm a few days behind!
> 
> I had a family event Saturday, exam prep on Sunday and a final exam to take Monday so I didn't have much time to write unfortunately. In order to try and catch up, I am going to try and post all four days I'm behind on tonight and into tomorrow. The chapters will be a little shorter than normal - but just as fluffy as normal :)
> 
> Thank you all for your patience!

Day Eight: “What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper?”  
London, 2018

She’s been away in Montreal for a Nivea photo and video shoot for a few days, and while she still loves the city that hosted their comeback she’s desperate to get home. Her many suitcases are filled with presents for her family and some little gifts for herself. One holds some new sweaters and clothes for her mom, sister and niece, while another has just an assortment of different French chocolates for her Christmas Eve party (though she isn’t sure if half of it will actually make it the 12 days left till Christmas). 

The Uber driver majorly side-eyes her as she helps him load another suitcase into the trunk of his car, and she burrows her head into her scarf to hide her blush as she climbs in the back seat. By the time she gets all her suitcases upstairs in her London home and the chocolate into a cupboard in the kitchen (and a few truffles stuffed in her mouth), she feels like she could fall asleep on the spot. But, she’d promised Scott she’d stop by for dinner and a movie once she got back, so she wraps herself up and heads back out into the cold. 

Scott’s Ilderton home sits out on farm land but she can see it a mile off with the amount of Christmas lights he’s strung across the porch railing and surrounding trees. She can’t help but smile when she pulls up and spots a huge Christmas tree in the front window with sparkling ornaments and multicolor lights. She shuts off the car, and reaches over to her passenger seat for the bottle of wine she’d brought, along with an overnight bag. 

“Scott?” She calls out after she’s taken her coat off and hung it on one of the pegs by the front door. The house is quiet, minus the crackle of the fire in the fireplace. She’s about to call him and scold him for leaving the house with a fire burning and the door unlocked when she hears muffled cursing from the back of the house. She follows the sounds to his modified mudroom turned home office, and presses a hand to her mouth at the sight of him. 

“Why is this so damn hard?” He curses under his breath as the Barbie doll box he’s wrapping rips a hole in the wrapping paper. A pile of torn and crumpled paper and ribbons sit beside him.

“What are you doing to that poor wrapping paper?” She asks him, and he jumps and looks up at her. 

“I didn’t know you were here, T.” He tells her, getting up to pull her into a hug. She nuzzles her head into his neck and breathes in the smell of fire and Alma's sugar cookies. 

“I just got here.” She says, pulling back. “Apparently I got here at the right time too.”

“Yeah, turns out I don’t know how to wrap presents.” Scott says, nudging the ripped pile of paper at his feet. “Maybe I should have just gone with gift bags.”

“Gift bags would have been easier.” She giggles. 

He shrugs. “But tearing up wrapping paper on Christmas morning is so much more exciting. I want Charlotte, Mason, Quinn, Shea and Cruz to have fun, you know?”

She smiles, and presses a kiss to his cheek. “I can assure you that all your nieces and nephews will have just as much fun with the presents you bought them, but if you really want to wrap their presents, I’ll help.”

“You’re the best, T. Just for that I’ll order dessert to go with our pizza.” He tells her, pressing a smacking kiss to her forehead and then walking towards his kitchen to order their food. 

“As if you weren’t going to order dessert anyway!” She calls back as she scoops up the paper scraps, shaking her head with a smile.


	9. "It's a time of goodwill, not whatever the hell you're doing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This one is a little darker than the other chapters, and has to do with their "retirement" period in 2014. It involves Scott drinking a bit too much and mentions Kaitlyn Lawes in passing. In other words, no one is in a good place in this chapter and I blame the prompt and the fact I'm writing late at night.

Day Nine: “It’s a time of goodwill, not whatever the hell you’re doing.”  
London, 2014

Things have been good lately, as good as things can be with the both of them still adjusting to non-competition life, Tessa thinks. In December alone they'd done Holiday on Ice, went to Montreal to train with Marie and Patch, and trained in Calgary for Art on Ice. It was the most training they’d done in a while, and Tessa loved the feeling of the sore muscles in her legs telling her she was getting back in skating shape. 

It was the first Christmas she was getting to spend at home in years, and she was savoring the nights she could sit by the fire in her own fireplace or run over to her mom’s to hang out with her while she made Christmas cookies. She loved being able to decorate her own house how she wanted with no fear of damaging the walls like she had at her rental townhouse in Canton and being able to respond with a “yes” on all the RSVPs for her friends’ holiday parties. 

She was settled, and happy, and she thought Scott finally was too. Until she got a late night phone call from Charlie. She’d just curled up with a book in bed, cozy in her fuzziest Christmas pajamas, when her phone vibrated on her nightstand. 

“Hello?” She says, sitting up straighter against her headboard. 

“Big Hands? It’s Charlie.” The voice on the other end says, and she smiles. 

“Hey Charlie! How are you?” She asks.

“Good. Unfortunately I have a favor to ask of you.” He says, his voice grim. “So I’m in the middle of my shift right now, but the bartender at Molly Blooms called and said Scotty could use a ride home.”

Tessa groans and pinches the bridge of her nose. “I thought he was doing better?”

“A bit, yeah. Kaitlyn is out of town again though, and you know how he gets.” Charlie replies. “I hate to ask you to get him, T. I just don’t want to worry mom or dad again, and Nicole just got the kids down for bed.”

“Yeah, I got him.” She says with a sigh, yanking the warm covers off of her and shivering at the loss of them. 

“You’re the best, T. Thank you.” Charlie says. “I’ll call soon so we can catch up, okay?”

“Of course, Charlie.” She replies and then hangs up. She curses Scott as she throws a hoodie on over her pajamas and tugs on an old pair of Ugg boots. She grabs her purse and coat on the way out the door, and puts the heat on full blast in her car as she pulls out of the driveway. The drive to the bar doesn’t take long, and being only a few days before Christmas the streets are pretty empty. She finds a spot right outside, and parks. 

The bar is playing some covers of Christmas songs, and a group of college kids are gathered around the pool table. A two tables have a couple people at them, but otherwise the place is empty. A couple regulars (which Tessa curses Scott for the fact that she knows who the regulars are) sit at the bar, Scott included. 

“Time to go home, Scott.” The bartender says when he sees her, and he tosses Scott’s keys to her. 

“You said I can’t drive.” Scott pouts. “You gonna make me walk all the way to Ilderton?”

“That’s what you deserve for dragging me out of bed.” Tessa says firmly with crossed arms, and Scott beams as he turns to face her on his barstool.

“Tutu! You’re here!” He exclaims. “Greg, get Tess a glass of white wine.”

“No.” She says. “No wine. I’m here to take you home.”

Scott rolls his bloodshot eyes at her. “It’s not even ten yet, T. I’m not ready to go.”

“Too bad. I think Greg would like you to go home now, Charlie too.” She says, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. Scott shrugs her hand off and frowns. 

“Well Charlie can go fuck himself. I’m fine.” He downs the rest of the whiskey in his glass. “I’ll have another, Greg.”

Greg shakes his head. “Sorry man, I told you a half hour ago that was your last one. I think it would be a good idea to go with Tessa.”

“Fuck you, Greg. It’s a time of goodwill, not whatever the hell you’re doing.” Scott curses. “I don’t have to go anywhere.”

“Scott, let’s go.” Tessa urges him again, sending a sympathetic smile to Greg. 

“Kaitlyn wouldn’t make me leave.” Scott growls at her, and Tessa feels her blood freeze. 

“Get up.” She says coolly. “We’re leaving.”

Even drunk-Scott knows better than to cross her when her voice goes that cold, and he slides off his barstool after tossing a wad of cash on the sticky counter. He sways as he follows her out the door. She opens the passenger side door for him, and slams it shut once he’s buckled up. She gets into the driver’s seat, and starts the car. The silence between them is heavy. 

“I’m sorry.” Scott mutters as they pass house after house decked in Christmas lights on the way back to her place.

She swallows around the lump that forms in her throat. “Sorry doesn’t cut it anymore, Scott.”

He follows her inside, and she points towards the couch. He sits and waits as she gathers Advil, water and a trash can for him, along with a ratty old blanket from their Canton days. Scott takes the items from her, and stares up at her with watery eyes. She sends a text to Alma from his phone that he's spending the night at a friend's place, and then walks away, shutting off the lights as she goes and leaving him in the darkness. 

So much for a happy Christmas at home, she thinks.

\--------------------------  
The combination of sunlight streaming in her windows and the smell of pancakes wakes her from her sleep hours later. She sits up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her mind is foggy from the restless night and she wants nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep the day away. 

A quiet knock on her door shakes her from her thoughts. 

“What?” She calls out, her voice gravelly.

The door creaks open, and Scott stands there with a tray full of pancakes and fruit. His hair's a mess and his shirt is disheveled, and he looks like he probably got as much sleep as she did.

“I made you breakfast.” Scott says softly. “I know it doesn't make up for last night though.”

Tessa beckons him over, and takes a long drink of the coffee on the tray. “Damn right it doesn’t.”

Scott sits down next to her on the bed, and they both pick at the food. Once most of it is gone, they sit in silence with their backs pressed to the headboard. 

“My new year's resolution is to get better.” Scott says after a while, and Tessa sighs.

“Did you know that 80 percent of people break their resolutions by February?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, T.” He says glumly. “I want to get better. I don’t know what happened yesterday.”

“Bullshit.” Tessa says hotly. “Kaitlyn left town and you lost it, again. I want you to get better, Scott, more than anything. But, you’ve fallen into this pattern of drinking instead of talking with someone about what you’re feeling. Your parents and brothers are worried, and so am I.”

Scott nods, and Tessa can see tears in his eyes. She drops her head onto his shoulder, all the anger leaving her in a rush. “I miss you. This isn’t you.”

“I know.” He says, blinking rapidly to try and keep the tears at bay. “I’m sorry. I’m going to call my therapist today I think. See if she can fit me in and get a head start on that resolution.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Tessa tells him, squeezing his arm. “I’m here for you, you know that, right?”

“Of course, T.” He says, placing a kiss into her hair and linering there. 

Christmas 2014 may not be off to a great start, but Tessa thinks it’s what she should have expected for such a shit show of a year. She can only hope that 2015 will be better. That they'll both be better.


	10. "No offence meant, but I do not trust you to carve the turkey."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this fluffy chapter makes up for the last one I posted :)

Day 10: “No offence meant, but I do not trust you to carve the turkey.”  
Ilderton, 2020

The great thing about being newly married and living in the same area as both of their families is that everyone wants to come to them for Christmas. Most people might disagree with that, Scott thinks, but he’s beyond excited to have their home filled to the brim with Virtues and Moirs on Christmas night. 

Their house (something he still can’t get over) is officially done and the number of guest rooms mean Danny and his family can comfortably stay at his place rather than at their parents. The house is definitely louder than usual but he’s used to the noise level from spending most of his days in ice rinks with kids. 

Kate and his mother, along with all the sister-in-laws, had made use of their kitchen and had put together a huge spread. Kate had made ham, while Alma made turkey, and Scott knew that no one would walk away hungry that night. 

“Alright, I think everything is about done.” His mom says as she places the turkey onto a cutting board. “We just need to carve the turkey.”

“I can do that!” Tessa pipes up from her place across the kitchen island.

Kate, Alma and Scott all shoot her a look.

“What? It’s not like I have to cook the actual turkey. It’s already done, I just have to cut it.” She reasons.

“No offence meant, but I do not trust you to carve the turkey.” Jordan says, swirling her wine around in her glass. 

“My entire career has been centered around dealing with blades, Jordan. I think I can handle one that cuts a turkey.” Tessa argues. 

“Carves.” Danny cuts in. “You carve a turkey, Big Hands.”

“Whatever. I can do it.” Tessa says firmly, eyeing the bird as if it’s going to jump off the cutting board and fight her over it. 

“You know, I’m really not interested in doing any first aid tonight. It’s sort of my night off.” Charlie says from where he sits on the floor with Poppy and Quinn who are working on a puzzle. 

“Does anyone think I can carve the turkey, or are you all against me?” Tessa asks with narrowed eyes. Scott knows she’s looking for him to back her up and he would, he really would, but he watched her massacre a slice of Hello Fresh chicken last week and those were precut.

“Fine! I see how it is.” Tessa sighs exaggeratedly. “I guess I’ll just sit at the kids table, cause apparently they’re the only ones that trust in my culinary skills.”

“What’s culinary mean?” Poppy asks. 

“It means cooking skills.” Casey tells her.

Poppy wrinkles her nose. “But you burned the cookies yesterday, Aunt Tess. I don’t know if I trust your skills.”

Scott tries not to laugh and bites the inside of his cheek so hard it bleeds. He can see Jordan is doing the same, her eyes watering as she tries not to lose it. Danny, Charlie and Casey make no effort however, and the three of them burst into laughter. 

Tessa pouts, and Scot wraps his arms around her from behind. “I’m getting better at it.”

“So much better.” Scott agrees. “Cookies and turkeys are just harder than most foods.”

“I guess.” She says, still pouting. Jordan pours more wine into Tessa’s glass with a sympathetic smile and Scott snags a truffle from the cookie tray and hands it to her. She smiles at the both of them for their attempts to make her feel better. 

Alma shakes her head at all of them and fires up the electric knife, making neat slices through the meat. Scott knows his mother would never allow anyone to carve the turkey anyway, let alone poor Tessa.


	11. "One normal Christmas, that's all I wanted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the worst at actually keeping up so far with these chapters? Yes.  
> Will I catch up in the next 24-48 hours? Probably not!  
> Will I catch up next week? Good lord I hope so lol!
> 
> I've got some great ideas for Day 12 and 14, so I just need to get them actually written. Day 13 is proving a challenge but I promise it will get written (even if it's super short...). 
> 
> Enjoy a very belated day 11!

Day 11: “One normal Christmas, that’s all I wanted.”  
Ilderton, 2021  
Boxing Day Night

The fire crackles in the fireplace as Scott adjusts the blankets wrapped around Tessa, and presses a kiss to her forehead. She nuzzles into him in her sleep and lets out a content sigh. 

“She doing okay?” Danny whispers at him, and Scott nods. “Hell of a Christmas, eh?”

“One normal Christmas, that’s all I wanted.” Scott groans. 

Danny chuckles, and pulls Quinn in her blanket further up his chest. “Moir’s don’t have normal holidays, Scotty. We have dramatic ones.”

Scott looks down at Tessa and brushes a lock of hair away from her face, thinking of what had happened a few hours prior. “You can say that again.”

\-------------------------------  
Boxing Day Morning

The morning was crisp and clear, the kind of winter morning that was perfect for sledding or skating. The small pond that sat at the back of Alma and Joe’s property had frozen perfectly, and Scott, Charlie and Danny had all been keeping a close eye on the thickness of the ice the past few days. Just after the sun rose, the three of them had gone out there to test the ice. It was the perfect thickness, and after flooding the surface it was smoother than the ice in the rink next door. 

“Can we go skating?” Charlotte asks excitedly as they come back inside. 

Scott picks her up, even though she’s really getting too big for it, and swings her around. “Of course we can! The pond is all ready to go.”

“But not before breakfast!” Alma calls out, and it sounds like a stamped echoes down the halls as all the grandkids make a break for the kitchen. Both Tessa’s follow them down the hall at a slower pace. 

“How are the Tessas today?” Charlie asks as he walks by them, and Danny’s Tessa rolls her eyes. 

“Haven’t heard that one before Charlie.” she says sarcastically, and Scott’s Tessa shakes her head. 

“Come on, T. Let’s go eat before these guys steal all the food.” Scott says, pulling Tessa down the hall with him. Quinn begs for Aunt Tessa and Uncle Scott to sit with her, and soon all the grandkids are gathered around them. 

“Are you going to skate with us, Tessa?” Charlotte asks, and Tessa nods.

“Of course! You know I wouldn’t miss skating.” She tells her, and Quinn practically shakes with excitement between them. 

“Can we go now?” Quinn asks, tugging on Tessa’s arm. 

“If you’re done with your breakfast we can.” Tessa tells her, and the two girls run off to get their coats and skates. “Aunt duty calls.”

Scott presses a chaste kiss to her lips which has his brothers making grossed out sounds. “I’ll join you in a bit.”

Tessa nods and follows the girls down the hall. They all reappear a few minutes later bundled up in thick coats, scarves, mittens and toques. 

“Lace check!” Scott calls out, and the girls hold still as he bends down to make sure everyone has their laces tight enough. “Now don’t forget to take your guards off before you get on the ice.”

“I think the Olympian going with them can probably remind them of that.” Danny teases, and Scott ignores him. 

The girls call our their goodbyes and trudge their way through the snowy backyard to the pond. Scott watches them for a minute before heading back to the kitchen for seconds of his mom’s waffles. 

“The girls look like they’re having fun.” Alma says, looking out the window over the sink as she washes the dishes. 

“Yeah, the girls love hanging out with Tess.” He says, cutting his waffle apart and drizzling maple syrup over it.

Alma glances over at him with a smile. “I know you two aren’t married yet, but-.”

“Mommm.” Scott groans, knowing exactly where this conversation is going. “We aren’t thinking about kids yet.”

“I’m just saying that you aren’t getting any younger. You’re 34, Scott.” Alma teases. 

“And Tessa’s-.” Scott starts to say when an ear-splitting shriek echoes from the backyard. His head snaps up to the window, and he feels like he can breath as he watches the ice crack out from under Tessa and Quinn’s feet. 

He doesn’t remember leaving the house or sprinting across the yard. He nears the edge of the pond, ready to jump in when a rough hand at the collar of his shirt pulls him back. 

“You’ll fall in too, you idiot.” Charlie says roughly. “I’m trained for this. You watch Charlotte” 

Scott nods dumbly and watches as Charlie lays down on the bank and pushes himself out towards the girls. Scott beckons Charlotte over from where she stands frozen in fear on the edge of the ice. 

“I got off to tie my skates” She whimpers, and Scott pulls her against his chest. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” He repeats to her over and over, not sure if he’s actually comforting her or himself. 

“Hand me Quinn, Tessa. It’s going to be okay.” Scott can hear Charlie say, and he watches as Tessa helps put Quinn into Charlie’s hands. Charlie shuffles backward, pulling Quinn along with him. Scott lets go of Charlotte and helps pull Charlie further back and grabs Quinn in his arms. 

Danny comes sprinting across the yard, and wraps Quinn in a blanket and then takes her in his arms. “I’m taking her inside to warm her up.” 

Scott nods, and looks out towards the ice as Tessa grasps at the edge of the ice. Charlie is talking to her softly as he shuffles across the ice again. The ice makes a deep cracking noise, and Charlotte lets out a scream. 

“Go inside, Charlotte.” Scott tells her. “Go find your mom.”

She runs across the yard, and Scott can see his mom meet her halfway. 

“Tessa, listen to me. Put your elbows on the edges. Can you do that?” Charlie says, and Scott holds his breath as Tessa pulls herself up a little. 

“Good, good. Now kick your legs, okay?” Charlie instructs. Tessa kicks weakly, and slowly her legs rise up behind her. “Try and crawl forward towards me.”

Tessa crawls forward a few inches, and Charlie reaches for her hand. “Scott, can you reach my feet?”

Scott crawls down the bank and grabs Charlie’s ankles. “Yeah, I got you.”

“Good, now pull me back. I’ve got Tessa.” Charlie says, and Scott pulls as fast as he dares. Charlie kneels on the bank once he’s close enough, and they both help pull Tessa off the ice. 

“Oh thank god.” Scott sobs, cradling Tessa to his chest. “You’re okay, T. I’ve got you.”

Tessa shivers against him, her lips blue and her skin white. “Where-where’s Quinn?”

“Danny’s got her inside. She’s okay.” Charlie tells her. “We need to get you inside too.”

Scott scoops her up into his arms, her wet clothes seeping into his shirt. He can feel Tessa tucking her face into his chest, and he squeezes her tight as he runs across the field and into the house. He’s met with his mother’s worried face at the door, and she immediately wraps a towel around the both of them. 

“You need to get her out of those wet clothes and into something warm. I’ll check her over after that.” Charlie tells him, turning his attention to Quinn, who is resting in Danny’s arms curled up in multiple blankets. 

“I’ll help you.” Alma says, directing Scott up the stairs to his old room. He makes quick work of striping Tessa’s coat and shirt off while his mom yanks at her skate laces. Tessa watches the both of them, and her silence unnerves him. 

“You doing okay, Tess?” He asks her as he frees her from her wet bra and wraps a towel around her torso. 

“Just cold.” She says softly, and shakily lifts her bum as Alma pulls her leggings off. 

“I’ll help you dry your hair a bit while Scott gets you so warm clothes.” His mom tells her, and she rubs Tessa’s hair with towels. Scott turns to their suitcases, and pulls out thick socks, sweatpants, a thermal top and a sweatshirt. He dresses her quickly, and a light dusting of color returns to her cheeks. 

Charlie knocks on the door, and pokes his head in. “How you doing, Big Hands?”

“I’m okay.” Tessa tells him. Charlie comes in, and sets a bag of medical supplies down. 

“I may not be a paramedic, but I’ve gotten some training.” He says with a smile. “How do you feel?”

“Just cold.” Tessa tells him, and Alma wraps a blanket around her tightly. “A little tired too.”

“That’s the adrenaline let down you’re feeling.” Charlie tells her as he pulls a stethoscope out of the bag. “Can you take some deep breaths for me?”

Tessa nods, and breathes slowly in and out. She coughs a little, and Scott rubs at her back. 

“I’m just checking to make sure you’re lungs are okay.” Charlie says, and shifts his hand under the blankets to reach her back. “You sound fine. Did you swallow any lake water?”

Tessa shakes her head no as a shiver wracks her body. Charlie pulls her wrist out from the blankets and checks her pulse, nodding after a minute. 

“So far, so good. I’m going to take your temp, and if that checks out I think we can avoid a hospital trip.” Charlie tells them and Scott sighs in relief. He kisses Tessa’ damp hair and she tilts her head to rest on his chest once Charlie slips a thermometer into her ear. It beeps a few seconds later. 

“Still below average, but nothing some warm blankets can’t fix. We just need to be careful to warm her up slowly.” Charlie tells them. “Danny’s got Quinn by the fire downstairs, so you guys can join them if you want.”

“We’ll be down in a minute.” Scott tells him, and Charlie claps him on the back before leaving the room.

“I’ll make some hot chocolate to warm everyone up.” His mom says, kissing both of them on the head. 

Scott cradles Tessa close, letting his eyes slip shut as he silently prays a thank you to the universe for keeping Tessa safe. He feels Tessa pull back from him, and he opens his eyes. 

“You’re all wet.” Tessa says, her nose wrinkling. He smiles at her, and tucks a damp strand of hair behind her ear. 

“I don’t care.” He presses a kiss to her forehead, his lips lingering. “I’m so glad you’re okay, and Quinn too. You saved her, Tess.”

“It was nothing. I wouldn’t have been able to keep her floating long if you and Charlie hadn’t gotten out there so quick.” She tells him. They sit there in silence for a minute wrapped in each others arms. “Moir Christmases really are never boring are they?”

Scott bursts into laughter, and a few tears of pent up emotion slide down his cheeks. Tessa wipes them away, smiling at him. 

“You better watch your words, you’ll be a Moir soon enough.” He reminds her, and her smile softens. “Let me change my shirt and then we can head down for some warmth and hot chocolate.”

It was definitely a Christmas for the record books, Scott thinks.


	12. “You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I STILL the worst? Yup! 
> 
> I'm hoping that Wednesday will provide some major writing time for me to catch up and maybe even get ahead. Until then, enjoy this little chapter.

Day 12: “You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm.”   
Montreal, 2023

“Scott. Scott! Wake up!”

Scott groans as he pries his eyes open. The clock is blurry on the bedside table but he can see it’s at least two in the morning. 

“What’s wrong, Tess?” He croaks. He rubs at his eyes and turns to look at her. She’s sitting back against the headboard, her legs crossed and her hands rubbing at her stomach. 

“The baby wants cheese puffs.” She says softly. “I already checked and we don’t have any.”

Scott groans, and internally curses at himself for not picking up her latest craving on his way home that night. She'd craved trailmix the first week of December, green peppers with peanut butter the second week and now cheese puffs. 

“You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm.” He says after glancing out the window. The road isn’t visible and he can barely even see the lamppost in the front yard. "I doubt the store is even open still with this much snow."

“But I need them.” Tessa whines. “I already tried to eat some cheese and it didn’t work.”

“I can make you a grilled cheese.” He offers. “Or maybe some cheese and crackers?”

Tessa pouts and crosses her arms. 

“Tess, you know I’d go get you some. But, it’s a blizzard out there, babe.” He tells her gently. She shrugs and gets out of bed, waddling out of their room. Scott lets out a heavy sigh and slides out of bed. By the time he gets downstairs, Tessa is standing in front of the refrigerator staring into the depths of the shelves as though if she looks hard enough something good might appear. 

“All the food in here is gross.” She declares as she shuts the door. Scott knows for a fact the refrigerator is stocked with fruit, vegetables, cheeses and several different leftovers from dinners at both of their parents places over the weekend.

“What about the lasagna? That’s cheesy.” He asks. 

Tessa shakes her head. “It’s not the right kind of cheese.” 

Scott shakes his head and walks away to turn on the Christmas lights, knowing that when Tessa gets in a mood like this that they’ll both be up until she finds something to satisfy her cravings.

“I’ve got it!” Tessa says loudly, and Scott can hear her grabbing something from the fridge and putting it in the microwave. A few seconds later he’s wrinkling his nose at the smell. 

“What the hell is that smell?” He asks her, and she smiles brightly at him. The microwave beeps, and she reaches in and pulls out a plate of...melted something. 

“It’s gingerbread cookies with melted cheese!” She pulls one of the cookies from the melted pile and shoves half of it in her mouth. The groan she lets out is downright sinful, and Scott shakes his head at her. 

“I take it that it’s good?” He asks, walking closer to her so he can see the plate. Between the smell and the look his stomach is turning, and he tries to smile at her encouraginly but he thinks it comes out as more of a grimce. 

“So good.” She mumbles with her mouth full. “Want some?”

“Defnietly not.” He tells her, pulling his head back from the offered piece. Tessa shrugs and smiles. 

“More for me then.” 

Scott backs away, needing some fresh air from the smell that won’t seem to leave the kitchen. 

“Oh, and Scott?” She calls after him, and he pauses in the doorway. “I’m still going to need some cheese puffs once they clear the roads.”

Scott nods earnestly. He’d buy anything - literally anything - she wanted to stop her from making weird kitchen concoctions in the middle of the night.


	13. “Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is super short - but the next few will be longer to make up for it ;)

Day 13: “Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?”   
London, 2017

“Have I told you how much I hate Christmas shopping?” Tessa complains as she slumps down on to the couch next to Scott, dropping all her shopping bags at her feet.

“You love Christmas shopping.” Scott reminds her, not tearing his eyes away from the Leafs’ game. 

“Not 72 hours before Christmas I don’t.” She groans and toes at the shopping bags with disdance. “It was insane out there.”

Scott makes a noise in agreement. “I picked up groceries this morning and I couldn’t even find a parking place.”

They both sit there in silence, watching Toronto kill off a penalty. 

“I forgot what silence sounds like. My ears are ringing.” Tessa says quietly. “Is this what Christmas is like for normal people?

Scott raises his eyebrows at her. “Are we not normal?”

Tessa scoffs. They were far from normal. She couldn’t remember the last time she spent more than a day or two home for the holidays, or the last time she ate a Christmas cookies without feeling guilty about the calories. 

“Is this just what people do? Run around the days before Christmas and buy everything out? I think I’m more stressed now than I was about the Grand Prix Final.” She rants. "I didn't even know that many people lived in London. Where did they all come from?!"

Scott tears his eyes away from the screen and looks at her. “I thought you were just getting the nieces gifts?”

Tessa groans and slides off the couch to the floor, surrounded by the gift bags. “I was. I just had no idea kids' gifts were so difficult. Casey told me Poppy is into Barbies. Do you know how many Barbies there are?”

Scott shakes his head. 

“Literally hundreds, Scott. Hundreds. The store had fashion Barbies and vet Barbies and farmer Barbies and wedding Barbies and pregnant Barbies. Pregnant!”

Scott hums. “Did you buy Pops a pregnant Barbie?”

Tessa huffs. “No. I got her a princess Barbie.”

“She’ll like that.” He tells her gently. 

“Then I had to get presents for your nieces. They all wanted something different too. The store was sold out of half the things your sister-in-laws suggested, so then I figured all kids like crafts right? But I have no idea what’s age appropriate for them.” She explains. “I’m not kidding Scott, I’ve never been more stressed."

“Not even in Sochi?” Scott asks, and she can see him trying to fight a smile. 

“Wipe that smirk off your face, Moir. You didn’t have to live through toy store hell.” She snaps. He does quickly, and then slides to the floor next to her. 

“I’m sorry, T. How about we go to the store together tomorrow and I’ll help pick something out for them.” 

Tessa nods, and then climbs to her feet, gathering all the bags. “I appreciate that. Also, I’ll be drinking at least one glass of wine before we go. I can’t handle that mess sober, and what B2Ten doesn’t know doesn't hurt them.”


	14. “Who ate all the advent calendar chocolates?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to get a few chapters out today! I've realized I'm really running out of time, so this may not finish up by the 25th and instead extend into the days after Christmas (unless I catch up today and get ahead, which I doubt).
> 
> So instead of kicking this series to the curb the day after Christmas like some people do with their Christmas trees (which makes me SO SAD), you get to experience the joy of Christmas for the days afterwards lol.
> 
> Also this chapter features my VM children from my fic "Storm Clouds May Gather, Stars May Collide," and is set in universe and timeline. It isn't necessary that you read that fic first if you haven't read it.

Day 14: “Who ate all the advent calendar chocolates?!”   
Montreal, 2028

The Moir kids share a lot in common with their mother. Tori, now seven, is a near clone of Tessa, and Nick, now five, had her chin and nose. Tori loves ballet just like Tessa did at her age, while Nick is fascinated by books of all kinds even with his limited reading abilities. The one thing all three of them have in common is their love of all things chocolate. 

Scott loves his family, obviously. His children are his pride and joy, and he still can’t believe Tessa agreed to marry him - even though they’ve been married six years. He doesn’t have the same sweet tooth the other three have but he does enjoy a bit of chocolate from time to time, which was why he’d been excited when Tessa had come home at the end of November with chocolate advent calendars for each of them. 

He’d enjoyed watching Tori and Nick excitedly opening the little flaps in the evening to retrieve their treat for the day. He liked getting to have a little something sweet after a dinner he cooked or a HelloFresh meal from Tessa. He loved the look on Tessa’s face as she savored her piece of chocolate will doing dishes or watching a movie with the kids before bed. 

Now, after spending four hours on a plane coming back from a competition, Scott’s ready to indulge on the five days of chocolate he missed (and by indulge he means eat two and give the rest to Tessa). The house is quiet, so he assumes the kids are either outside or at Kate’s. He leaves his luggage by the stairs, and makes his way to the dining room table where the advent calendars are set up. 

Tori and Tessa’s matching ballerina ones sit side by side, while Nick’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Scott’s Toronto Maple Leafs calendars frame the girls’ ones. The little flaps for each day are bent in all different directions from where the kids tore them open, while Tessa’s are all neatly pulled open. He picks his up, and slips his thumb nail under the flap, surprised when it pulls away easily. 

The little slot where the chocolate should be is empty.

He goes to the next day, thinking maybe Tessa had wanted a little extra for herself the day before. That day is empty too. All the days he was gone were empty. He sets the calendar back on the table. 

“Who ate all the advent chocolates?!” He calls out loudly, and he can hear quiet giggles from behind him. 

He turns around to see Nick, looking beyond cute in his little grey sweatpants and a 2026 Team Canada flannel shirt that used to be Tori's. 

“Dominic Patrick Moir, did you eat my chocolate?” Scott asks him, dramatically raising an eyebrow. 

Nick blushes, a sure sign he did. “Mommy and sissy ate them too.”

Scott gasps loudly, making Nick laugh. “Well we better go tickle them as punishment.”

“Mommy! Dad’s going to get us!” Nick takes off down the hall towards the playroom, and Scott jogs after him. Tessa and Tori are both sitting on the floor playing with one of Tori’s dolls when the boys burst into the room. Nick runs for the safety of Tessa’s arms, while Tori gets up and runs circles around the room with Scott chasing her. After a few minutes Scott grabs her around the waist and pulls her to the floor. 

“Victoria Maria Moir, did you eat my chocolate too?” He asks her, and Tori laughs hysterically in his grasp. “Did you? Were you the one who opened my advent calendar?”

“Mommy said we could!” Tori gasps as she wiggles out of his grasp. “Mommy opened them!” 

Scott lets Tori go, and she runs to stand next to Tessa. “Is this true? Did you tell the kids they could eat my chocolate?”

“Maybe.” Tessa replies, her eyes twinkling. Scott lunges at her, and Nick scrambles from her lap. Tessa tries to get away, but Scott pins her to the floor much to the delight of the kids. 

“Tessa Jane McCormick Moir, did or did you not let the kids eat my chocolate?”

Tessa has tears of laughter on her cheeks, and she wiggles underneath him. “Yes, and I had some too!”

“I’ve been betrayed!” Scott yells, and the kids jump on his back, both laughing. “My own family ate my chocolates.”

“It’s okay, daddy.” Tori tells him. “We made cookies and you can have those instead.”

“Yeah! I made some just for you!” Nick adds. Scott shakes his back, throwing both of the kids gently to the carpet, and releases Tessa from underneath him as he sits up. 

“I guess I can forgive you guys if you made me cookies.” He says, and Tori and Nick both launch themselves at him, fighting for space to hug him. Tessa cuddles up against his back, and Scott’s never been so happy to be home.


	15. “Just how much eggnog have you had?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another angsty chapter, because whenever I write about their Canton days it's either humorous or pure angst...

Day 15: “Just how much eggnog have you had?  
Canton, 2012

The holiday season in Canton was always less than joyful. Between the slushy snow and rain, dark mornings and nights, and the nerves before the Grand Prix Final, no one really felt the holiday spirit. Most of the skaters were downright stressed out in the weeks before Christmas, and nothing could turn their sour moods around. 

Until they had Charlie’s special eggnog.

The Canton Christmas Party was not the official one that Igor used to host that they all dreaded, which had involved training plan food options for dinner and a stuffy back room at a local restaurant. This party was the second best party of the year, following Halloween, and was always held at Charlie’s parents place while they were gone on their annual ski trip. 

Dancing, smoking and drinking were party staples of course, but the eggnog was what most of them looked forward to. Nobody dared question what Charlie put in it, and all they knew was that Charlie had a way with making drinks taste like they had barely any alcohol content when in actuality one drink was really enough for most of them to get tipsy. 

Charlie’s eggnog was something Tessa full well intended to take advantage of after placing second to Meryl and Charlie a few days prior. She was a lightweight, and she knew it wouldn’t take much to help her forget the weight of the silver medal around her neck and the never ending loop of Carmen in her head. 

“Merry Christmas, Tessa!” Charlie says loudly, handing her a cup of eggnog. She takes it and smiles at him, and then finds a quiet place on the couch to sit while the rest of the skaters jump around to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” 

The first cup of eggnog goes down easily. 

“Hey Tess, need a refill?” Meryl asks her, and Tessa has to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Tess. As if Meryl had the right to call her by a nickname. She fights back the words that threaten to roll of her tongue, but instead she smiles sweetly and offers Meryl her cup. 

The second cup of eggnog tastes bitter. 

Fedor finds her before she’s finished her second cup, and has a third in hand for her. His presence comes with making out in the dark of Mrs. White’s pantry, and a few songs of them grinding. He’s gone by the time Tessa’s finishes the third cup, and she doesn’t bother to go looking for him. 

The third cup tastes like nothing. 

Scott finds her by the time she’s started her fourth cup. His shirt is rumpled and he’s sweaty from dancing and god knows what else. She's drunk enough she really can’t focus enough to think about “what else” he could have been doing, and she’s seeing more Scotts than their should be. 

“Hey there, T.” He greets her. “How about I take that from you?”

She frowns at him and clutches her cup to her chest. “Get your own.”

“I’ve already had two and that’s more than enough for me.” He tells her, and slowly approaches her. “Charlie tells me you’ve out drank me for once.”

“Charlie can go fuck himself.” She slurs, and stumbles backwards until her back hits the wall. “‘M fine. Go back to the party.”

“Just how much eggnog have you had?” Scott asks. She rolls her eyes. The one thing she doesn’t need is Scott’s protective ass all over her. She just wants to forget their loss for a little bit. To be numb for a few hours.

“Go away.” She turns sharply on her heel, and nearly loses her balance. The motion sends her stomach rolling, and she gags. Scott drags her down the hall to the closest bathroom, and she crawls to the toilet as he locks the door behind them. 

She can feel Scott holding her hair back and then braiding it away from her face as the first two cups of eggnog make an reappearance. Scott’s rubbing soothing circles up and down her back as the third cup of eggnog comes up, and has placed a cool washcloth on the back of her neck by the time she throws up the fourth cup. Everything is a sweaty, nasty blur and she has no idea how long they sit there on the cold tile floor. 

Finally her stomach stops rocking, and she sits up. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay, T.” Scott says softly, handing her a small cup of water. She studies the happy little elves on the disposable cup, their grins mocking her. “Do you wanna talk about why you drank so much?”

“No.” 

Scott nods. “Okay. Can I take you home then?” 

“Please.” 

The ride across town back to her apartment is quiet, and Tessa presses her head to the cold window. She wishes the world would stop spinning and the Christmas lights on all the houses wouldn't shine so brightly.

“I don’t like losing.” She says once they’re parked in front of her building. “I drank because I don’t like losing.”

“You also don’t like drinking. Not that much anyway.” Scott points out. 

“I can’t stop thinking about it. We had good skates.” 

Scott hums in agreement. “You know I always want us to win. Meryl and Charlie have been skating hard though. We both knew they would be tough competition this year.”

Scott can tell her anything he wants to about unfair judging or unevenly ranked GOEs or the fact that next competition will be different - it doesn’t matter to her. They lost, and it feels like they’ll never win a Grand Prix Final at this point.

“Tessa.” Scott breaks her train of thought. He squeezes her hand, and she tries to cling to the hope he seems to have. “Next time we’ll be in Sochi it’ll be different, I promise.” 

He’s wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and your lovely comments :)


	16. “Hum one more note of that carol and I will stab you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes - I’m the worst with prompt updates! I’m definitely going to finish this during this week before I head back for my last semester. That I can promise! 
> 
> In the meantime, enjoy this little chapter. I’m five minutes away from 2019 - so thank you all for being so great to me in 2018 and I look forward to another year of fic writing!

Day 16: “Hum one more note of that carol and I will stab you.”   
U.S-Canadian Border, 2011

Tessa is trying her absolute best not to be grouchy. Really.

It’s just that it’s 8 a.m., they’ve been sitting at the border waiting to cross for half an hour and it’s the day after Christmas. She’s tired, has no coffee yet and she’s starting to get a headache. 

“Fa la la la, la la la la!” Scott sings loudly. She burrows down deeper into her scarf and doesn’t make eye contact. 

The song on the radio shifts to the Twelve Days of Christmas and Tessa thinks she just might die, right then and there in Scott’s passenger seat.

“On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me-.” Scott sings, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

Tessa reaches over and turns off the radio. “Nope. No more.”

“Tesssss.” Scott groans, pouting, but he cuts it out as soon as she glares at him over her sunglasses. It’s silent for a few minutes, and Tessa basks in the silence.

“Hmhm hm hmmm hm, hmm hm hm, hm hm hm hmhm hmhm hmmmmm.” Scott hums, and Tessa presses her fingertips to her temples. 

“Hum one more note of that carol and I will stab you.” She says sharply, and she can hear Scott audibly swallow. 

“Sorry.” Scott whispers. “I’ll be quiet.”

The silence last for a good five minutes, and then they both have to talk as they deal with border control. It’s quiet as Scott drives off the bridge and then gets back on the highway to Canton.

“I’ve got some painkillers in the glovebox.” Scott says. “I can tell you’ve got a headache.”

“Thank you.” She pops open the box and gets out the bottle of pills, dry swallowing a couple. A few of Scott’s old CD’s slid out as he changes lanes, and Tessa looks through them. 

It’s mostly all country stuff, which Tessa promptly shoves back into the glovebox, but one CD catches her eye. She pops it into the CD player and waits for Scott’s reaction. 

“Ohhh my karaoke jam!” Scott says excitedly, and then glances over at her. “Am I good to sing?”

She nods, and shifts in her seat to watch him. He raps along as best as he can, and she can’t fight the smile on her face. Once the song ends Scott leans over to turn down the volume. 

“No more Christmas songs I take it then?” He asks. 

“The holidays are over for us. We’re lucky we even got to go home. I just need to forget about it and move on.”

Scott takes a hand off the steering wheel and reaches for her. He squeezes her hand, and then rest their joined hands in her lap. 

“I get it T, I do.” He says softly, and then clears his throat. “Alright! Next song!”

He turns up the volume, and Tessa beams as one of the songs from Moulin Rouge starts. It’s a fierce karaoke battle all the way back to Canton, and that’s exactly what Tessa needed.


	17. “Secret Santa is bullshit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in hopes that if I keep writing while inspiration strikes maybe I’ll finish this story quicker! 
> 
> Also, happy 2019 now that it’s way past midnight where I am. As you can probably tell, I have had a quiet night in lol.

Day 17: “Secret Santa is bullshit.”   
December, 2017  
Montreal 

Scott curses as soon as he sees the name he’s pulled out of the Santa hat being passed around the break area. Secret Santa had been Marie-France’s idea of a way to break the tense training atmosphere with everyone just weeks from the Olympics. 

“Secret Santa is bullshit.” He whispers in Tessa’s ear, and he can see her shoulders shake with silent giggles. “I got Gabby.”

Tessa silent giggles become not so silent, and the other skaters turn to look at them. 

“Don’t be sharing who you got over there.” Madi Hubbell calls over to them, and Tessa presses her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing. 

“Seriously, T. How am I going to deal with this?” Scott moans.

She shrugs.”I don’t think anyone is going to think too deeply on what to get each other.”

Scott hums and glances around at the other skaters. Gossip spreads quickly around Gadbois, and he gives it until the end of the lunch break for everyone to find out who has who - something he thinks he can use to his advantage.

——————————

The hard thing about finding something for Gabby is that she’s...well...boring. She likes skating and traveling, and neither of those things tend to come with gifts you can get for under $25. Normally Scott would buy candy or chocolate, but Gabby liked to eat healthy like most of the other girls at the rink, so that idea was out. 

Guillaume had been little help once Scott had shared he had Gabby, though Scott hadn’t been much help either in helping him figure out what Olivia Smart would want. 

So, he was on his own. With some input from Tessa, he’d settled on a $25 gift card to a local dance shop so Gabby could pick out a new skirt or something. It wasn’t as flashy as some of the things he was sure the other skaters would have planned, but he figured she would be happy regardless.

The Monday before Christmas was busy, and with the team party that night, people were sneaking around to drop off their gifts left and right. Scott had snuck Gabby’s present into her bag while she was warming up, and he was happy to wash his hands of the whole thing and not spend anymore time thinking about it. 

That was until he saw Tessa beaming into her skatebag during their first break. 

“What you got there, Tess?” He asks her, and she grins as she holds up a wrapped box. “Go on, open it!”

Tessa tears the wrapping paper off, and smiles softly down at the box in her hands. “It’s ballet slippers. I needed a new pair but haven’t had the time to pick some up.”

She pulls the lid off and takes one of the shoes out gently. A bar of chocolate is nestled in the wrapping paper. “It’s my exact size, and the style I like too. Someone did their homework.”

Scott hums and tries to think of who would know Tessa’s preferred ballet shoes. Sam maybe, but he wasn’t involved in the Secret Santa. 

“Scott?” Tessa says, and he shakes his head to clear his mind and looks up at her. “Ready to go back on the ice?”

He nods and takes her hand, leaving his curiosity for the party.

—————————————  
Everyone is happily sipping on wine and beer (a rarity during the season, and they’ll each only be allowed one according to their diet plans) when Marie-France tells them it’s time to make their guesses for the Secret Santa. 

Scott had gotten a new Maple Leafs keychain and a Tim Hortons’ gift card, so he had no idea who had him. He didn’t want to say he was easy when it came to gifts but he was pretty obvious when it came to what he liked. 

“Gabby, who do you think had you?” Marie-France asks, and Scott watches as Gabby looks around at everyone. 

“I think Tessa.” She says after a moment, and Tessa shakes her head no. “Oh! I figured it had to be you since it was to the little ballet shop near the rink.” 

“You got the right pairing at least.” Scott says, and Gabby’s eyes go wide when she looks at him. 

“You?” She confirms, and Scott nods. “Merci, Scott”

She gives him a hug, and Scott rolls his eyes over Gabby’s shoulder as Tessa hides a laugh with a sip of wine.

Once Gabby is back in her seat, it’s Scott’s turn.

“Well whoever got me knew exactly what to get me. I’m honestly not sure who it is though.” Scott confesses. “I’m going with Donohue.”

“You got me.” Zach says with a shrug. Scott fist pumps, and settles back in his seat next to Tessa. The circle goes around and around until finally it’s Tessa’s turn. 

“I got somebody who knows me pretty well, and possibly went a little over budget.” Tessa says, and Scott watches as she eyes each person in the room. “I’m going to guess Gabby, strictly because I don’t know who else would know what style of ballet slippers I might like.” 

“It was not me.” Gabby says. 

“It’s all about knowing the right people.” Patrice calls out. “I talked with Sam.”

“It was you?” Scott says with a laugh. “I didn’t even know you were playing.”

Patch shrugs. “I wanted to keep it a secret. Make it more mysterious.” 

Tessa gets out of her seat to hug Patch, and he presses a kiss to her forehead. “Joyeux Noël, ma chérie.”

“Merci beaucoup, Patch.” Tessa replies, smiling. She settles back in next to him, and Scott rests an arm across the back of her chair. Tessa can’t stop smiling, and he thinks that maybe Secret Santa isn’t such a bad thing after all.


	18. “Oi! That was my hot chocolate!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was so, so hoping to have all these chapters done by today before I head back to school - but I got hit with a horrible cold this week. Ugh. Oh well! 
> 
> Hopefully I’ll have all these done by the end of the weekend.

Day 18: “Oi! That was my hot chocolate!”  
Canton, December 2004

Even having been there for a few months, training at Canton still felt new at times. 

The roads were more familiar (as was the Tim Hortons a few minutes away from the border), and Scott could drive the route from his place to Tessa’s and then to the rink with his eyes closed. Most mornings it felt like his eyes were closed due to the early hour. Spending a vast majority of the holidays away from home still didn’t feel familiar though. 

Scott took joy in the small comforts from home, including Christmas cookies, a few little decorations and a soft blanket his mom had sent him the week prior. He knew Tessa was struggling with the distance even more than he was though. She was only 15 to his 17, and their first year in Canton hadn’t been easy on her. 

Scott would do anything to prevent them from having a rough training week due to their winter blues, even if that meant humoring or planning little surprises for Tessa at every turn. 

Monday he snuck a few of his Christmas cookies into her training bag.

Tuesday he allowed her to play whatever music she wanted in the car on the way home from the rink. 

Wednesday he tucked a Christmas card into one of her school folders. 

Thursday he thoroughly cleaned her skates while she was at a dance class. 

Now it was Friday morning, and he was ready to get out the big guns to ensure they finished the week on a good note. He watches Tessa stumble her way down the sidewalk from her billet family’s house. Her eyes are barely open, and she sniffles from being out in the cold for a few minutes.

“Good morning, Tessa.” He says, glancing over at her as he backs out of the driveway. She grunts and tucks her nose into her scarf. “Got you a little something.”

She angles herself towards him, and he knows she’s listening now. 

“Coffee?” She rasps. 

“Better.” He says. “Hot chocolate.”

He can see Tessa sit up straighter and reach for the cup in the cup holder. She cradles it like it’s the holy grail, and the moan she lets out after her first sip makes Scoff shift in his seat. 

“You’re the best.” She snuggles into her coat, and Scott turns on some music knowing she won’t talk until they get to the rink. By the time they park, Tessa’s placed her empty cup back into the cup holder and looks a little more awake. 

Scott hides his smile behind his cup, and tilts it back, expecting some of the chocolate liquid to pour into his mouth. He tilts the cup further and further back. Nothing. 

“Oi! That was my hot chocolate!” He shouts. She has the decency to blush at least. “I can’t believe you drank all mine too.” 

She shrugs. “It tasted good. Sorry.”

Scott shakes his head at her. “You should be glad I don’t have a sweet tooth like you do.” 

She leans over the center console and pecks him on the cheek. “I am so grateful.”


	19. 19. "You really didn't think I'd let you spend Christmas alone, did you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> I realize it has been months since I've posted anything new, let alone updated this story, but I thought with Christmas in July going on now would be a great time to wrap up these one shots I started last Christmas!  
> I have the last few days written, so I can assure you I will be finishing up this story. 
> 
> As for updating my Titanic fic or starting anything new, it probably will be a while. I have tons of great ideas and the writing bug has really bit me again, but the timing just isn't great. I graduated in May and I'm heavily job searching amid a move home, so things are a bit crazy at the moment! Hopefully everything settles down soon and maybe I can post again. 
> 
> A note for this chapter is that I am not a doctor and have no medical training, so I used google to guide me through what recovery from a tonsillectomy may look like. If you are in the medical field and things seem a bit off, that would be why.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this much delayed chapter and those to come!

Day 19: “You didn’t really think I’d let you spend Christmas alone, did you?” 

London, Christmas Eve and Day, 2022

There is nothing Scott hates more than seeing Tessa in pain. Between her occasional migraines and her struggles with compartment syndrome he’s seen more than enough of her in pain throughout the years. The persistent sore throat that leads to bouts of tonsillitis in the months before Christmas just makes matters worse for the both of them. 

“Those tonsils definitely need to come out.” The doctor says, peering into the depths of Tessa’s throat with a penlight at the beginning of December. “I’d like to get you in as soon as possible.”

It turns out as soon as possible is Christmas Eve morning. 

“This is the worst Christmas ever.” Tessa complains the night before her surgery as she reluctantly lays out some comfortable clothes for the next day. “I won’t be able to eat or drink, and my throat is going to be awful. Who has to have their tonsils out at 33 anyway?!”

“It’ll be fine, T. I’m going to take care of you.” He reminds her, not wanting her to go through the pain alone. She gives him a soft, sad smile. 

“Thank you. You should go celebrate with our family though.” 

Scott shakes his head at her, because as much as he wants to be with family, he wants to be with her more - and what kind of husband would abandon his sickly wife on Christmas? 

“Nope. I’m staying here with you, and that’s final.” He says firmly, and then cuddles her against his chest. “We’re going to come home afterwards and cuddle and eat ice pops. That sounds like the perfect Christmas to me.”

\----------

It turns out, however, that Tessa doesn’t get to come home after surgery as expected. 

“She’s running a bit of a fever, so we’re going to keep her a little longer.” The doctor explains as she leads him back to recovery to see Tessa. “We’re keeping a close eye on her, and she should be fine, but we want to keep her here as a precaution.” 

Scott nods, and then sighs as he sees Tessa in her hospital bed. She looks small and pale, and he winces when he sees the IV in her hand. He takes the seat next to her, and makes sure to squeeze her good hand. 

“Mhm.” She hums and tilts her head towards him, eyes still closed but he can tell she’s awake. Scott reaches up to smooth her hair away from her face, and frowns when he feels how heated her skin is. 

“Scott.” She rasps out, and her face pinches in pain as her throat pulls.

“Shhh, Tess. I’m right here.” He tells her. “Don’t talk, okay? You need to rest.” 

She settles back down, and Scott strokes her hair until he’s sure she’s comfortable again. 

\----------

A few hours later Tessa’s fever breaks, and she’s in the clear, but it’s late enough at night that she has to stay through Christmas morning before she can be released. She wakes up every so often, rasping out she needs water and then falling back asleep once she’s had some. 

Scott’s dozed off and on, not wanting to fully fall asleep in case she needs something. It’s well past 2 a.m. when she wakes up enough to actually have a conversation. 

“Hey Tess, Merry Christmas.” Scott says softly to her as she blinks awake. She smiles at him and swallows roughly. “Need some water?”

She nods, and he helps her sit up enough to drink out of the cup. 

“That hurts.” Tessa rasps. “What time is it?”

“About 2:15 in the morning.” He tells her. “You’ve slept a lot.” 

“Why am I still here?” She sits up more, and Scott notices how improved her color is.

“You were running a fever after surgery, so they wanted to keep you here for a while to make sure everything was okay. We can leave in the morning.” He explains, and she pouts. 

“I want to go home.” She mumbles. 

“I know, T.” He sighs, and kisses her forehead. “As soon as they discharge you in the morning we’ll go straight home.”

Tessa sighs and settles back into the bed. He hates how sad she looks, and he tucks the blankets more firmly around her. 

“You can go home.” She says softly. “I’m gonna sleep.”

He can see she’s fighting to stay awake, thanks to the drugs the doctor has her on, and he could slip away if he wanted to. After such a long day their big, soft bed at home is calling his name. But, he could never leave her, not like this. 

“Nope. I’m staying here with you.” Scott tells her. “You sleep, sweetie. It’s okay.”

She smiles softly at him and passes back out.

\----------

Scott wakes hours later to the sun streaming in the window and someone’s fingers in his hair.

“You stayed.” Tessa says softly, still wincing as she speaks.

He sits up and stretches, the vertebrae in his back popping and cracking from the awkward way he’d fallen asleep bent over the edge of her hospital bed. “You really didn’t think I’d let you spend Christmas alone, did you?”

“No.” She says, and gives him a sweet smile. “Let’s go home.”

Scott calls for the doctor, and after a quick check up Tessa is declared ready to leave. Within a few hours they’re back home, with Tessa showered and changed into her favorite Christmas pajamas. Between the pain meds and ice pops, Scott thinks she’s in a much better mood. He finds a Christmas movie on TV for them to watch, and between the quiet dialogue and a warm fire in the fireplace they find themselves both dozing off. 

There was no place either of them would rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please let me know what you thought! I love reading your comments. 
> 
> I also have a tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection), and would love to chat with all of you there as well if that floats your boat :)


	20. 20. "You invited how many people over for Christmas dinner?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter!
> 
> I might update again later tonight, and I definitely will be tomorrow - so keep an eye out! I'm moving early this week, so my goal is to have this story completed by Monday night. If my track record with updating this fic is anything to go by, I doubt that happens...

Tessa loves how generous Scott is. 

She’s never met someone so willing to give back to their community, and she adores watching him talk with local children at free skating clinics or with community members at charity events. His generosity extends to his family too, of course, and few porches had been fixed or babies rocked to sleep at parties without Scott’s help during the past couple of years. 

One thing Tessa doesn’t love about Scott’s generosity is that he sometimes doesn’t know when to stop. 

“You invited how many people over for Christmas dinner?” She grits out, clenching the pencil in her hand as it hovers over the notebook she’d been making a shopping list in.

“Fifty. I think.”

“You think?” 

Scott at least has the decency to look sheepish. He rubs at the back of his neck nervously, something Tessa usually finds sweet, but today just makes her blood boil.

“Roughly 50, yeah. I mean between my family and yours were at about 35 people. I invited some of the rink staff to come too, so that’s about 42.”

She stares him down. “Who else?”

“My neighbors, so that’s 48. Oh! I invited your neighbors too. So that’s 50.”

Tessa rubs at her temples, numbers rattling around her brain as she tries to figure out exactly how many pounds of turkey they’re going to need.

“So I’d count on 60 for dinner, cause you never know who else might show up.”

At that comment, Tessa drops her head to the countertop. The marble is cool at least, and makes her mind feel a little less jumbled up. 

“That’s not a dinner, Scott, that’s an open house. A big one at that.” She quips, and then rolls her head to the side to look at him. 

“We can call it whatever you want.” He shrugs. “Open house, dinner, party. Whatever. It’s going to be great!”

“Great?!” Tessa snaps her head up from the counter. “I don’t have room for 50 to 60 people in my house where, if you forgot, we are having this event.”

“I didn’t forget, and it’ll be fine, T. People will come and go, so it’s not like everyone will be here at once.”

Tessa groans and presses her head into her hands. When she had thought of co-hosting Christmas dinner with Scott for the first time it had seemed like such a wonderful idea. The two of them together, finally getting to spend time with both of their families, and having a great evening with food, booze and presents. They were newly dating (not that many people knew) and it seemed like the perfect way to slowly ease their family into the idea. She had counted on just their immediate family on both sides - not all the Moir cousins, the Ilderton Arena staff and both of their neighbors. 

“I just thought it would be nice to have everyone we love and appreciate together for Christmas. We have enough money to feed everyone, and you’re house looks so beautiful for the holidays.” She feels Scott move to stand behind her, and he wraps his arms around her. 

“You’re too nice, you know that? And I love that about you.” Tessa says, twisting around to face him.

“But?”

“But sometimes your generosity is a bit much.” She says, and Scott throws his head back and laughs. 

“Well it’s a good thing I’m good at planning too, because I asked everyone I invited to bring a side dish. We only need to have the turkey and ham.” 

Tessa sighs in relief. HelloFresh has made her more confident in the kitchen, but certainly not comfortable enough to make side dishes that feed 60 people. She and Scott can conquer a few turkeys and hams together she thinks (well...she could supervise the kitchen at least while Scott cooked). 

“Then we can make this work.” She says confidently, making a few notes on her shopping list. “But next time please run your generous ideas by me first before executing. There’s a reason we’ve had 22 years of success, and it’s because we make decisions _together_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading and please feel free to leave a comment below if you enjoyed this chapter - or just want to say hello. 
> 
> If you want to chat with me outside of the comment section, you can find me on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection).


	21. 21. “If you throw that snowball you’re declaring war.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still awake, so why not post another chapter! 
> 
> If you missed my update yesterday, I posted Day 20, so please check that out if you have the time 😊

Day 21: “If you throw that snowball you’re declaring war.” 

Canton, December 2013 

He’s been crouched behind the bushes at Arctic Edge for an hour.

His calves are cramping. 

He really can’t feel his fingertips.

But he’s staying put until he hits his intended target. 

The pile of snowballs he’s made are resting at his feet, and he’s got one ready to fire in his hand. 

He’s hit a few people so far that weren’t his intended target, like Meryl (“Fuck you, Scott Moir.”) and Fedor (You fucking _idiot_!”). He wouldn’t dare hit Tessa, or god forbid Marina, but he can’t exactly see who’s coming so he’s relying on the sound of footsteps to guide him to his target.

That target is Charlie White.

They aren’t as close as they once were. The tension at the rink could be could be cut with a knife and then some, and Scott is realizing the closer they get to the Olympics that he really should’ve trusted Tessa and moved them to a new training facility. He misses the old days of messing around with the boys and going to parties. Now things are just flat out stressful. 

Which is why he’s in a bush, apparently trying to recreate old times or whatever.

He hears the sound of footsteps approaching, and he jumps up and launches a snowball. It makes a satisfying crunching noise as it splatters on impact. Turns out when you’re on the ice all the time you don’t actually know what people’s footsteps sound like. 

“Motherfucker!” A voice shrieks, and Scott cringes immediately identifying Tessa’s voice. She glares in his direction through a facefull of wet snow. “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“Tess, I am so, so sorry.” He pleads, hoping over the bushes and walking towards her with his palms out like she’s a spooked animal.

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” She shoves him away. 

“I was trying to get Charlie!” He says, letting her shove him around. It’s better she get her frustration out now then go silent and grumpy on him all day.

“Do I look like Charlie to you?!” She growls, using her scarf to wipe the snow from her eyes. 

He shakes his head quickly. “No, of course not! I couldn’t see in the bushes. I was listening for people’s footsteps.”

“You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met!” She cries out, breaking the silence of the dark morning and breaking their no name calling rule. She turns away from, and grabs a heaping handful of snow off a nearby bench.

“If you throw that snowball you’re declaring war.” Scott says, raising his hands in surrender. 

“You started it.” Tessa says calmly, and then promptly fires the snowball directly at his face. It stings like a bitch, and he’s momentarily blinded by the icy, cold water in his eyes. Tessa uses his momentary disadvantage to fire a few more snowballs at him, and then it’s an all out battle as the two of them throw handfuls of snow at each other. 

Charlie, of course, slips into the rink unseen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading! If you’d like to chat with me outside of the comment section, feel free to drop me a note on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection).


	22. 22. “I made you a Christmas sweater!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Here is Day 22! I posted two new chapters to this story over the weekend, so if you haven’t had the chance to check them out yet please do so! 
> 
> As a side note for this chapter, the original prompt was “I got you a Christmas sweater,” but I changed it to “made” to fit my idea.

Day 22: “I made you a Christmas sweater!” 

Ilderton, Christmas Day 2020 

Tessa thought she’d seen it all over the years when it came to Moir Family Christmases. She had never stayed the whole day since she had her own family to visit with, but now that she was an actual Moir it meant she was exposed to the craziness for the entire day. 

She and Scott had spent Christmas Eve with her family, and while she loves the Moirs, she finds herself missing the smaller crowd and quieter evening they’d had last night. Alma and Joe’s living room is a mess of wrapping paper, glitter and tiny bits of plastic from the packaging on the kids’ toys. She honestly scared to get up from her chair in the corner, lest she step on a bit of plastic - or god forbid a Lego. 

“Alright, here is the last of the presents!” Alma calls out, and Tessa watches as the packages get handed out around the room. Scott expertly weaves his way back to her through the mess that is the floor, and hands her a lumpy shaped object covered in wrapping paper that features moose in a variety of ski gear. 

“Now I need everyone to open their presents at the same time. On the count of three, okay? One...two...three!” Alma says.

The room descends into madness and wrapping paper literally floats in the air. Tessa is slow about unwrapping gifts, mainly because she knows it drives Scott nuts, and by the time she’s opened her present half of the Moirs are already wearing their gifts. 

What sits in her lap is...something. It’s a maroon, knit sweater, and definitely hand made. A large, slightly uneven letter T is in the on the chest and a funny looking white ice skate is knitted into the upper back. 

“I made you a Christmas sweater!” Alma says with glee when Tessa looks up and meets her eyes. “I’ve been making something for everyone all year!”

Tessa looks around and takes in the array of knitted apparel that every single Moir in the room is rocking. She spots mittens, scarves, a couple of hair bows, a few awkwardly shaped shawls and exactly one other sweater.

“We match, T!” Scott crows, and Tessa doesn’t know whether to laugh or groan. Scott’s sweater is green, with a big red S that looks a little more like the number five than the actual letter. He’s got a black skate on his back to compliment the white skate on hers. They have literal, matching Christmas sweaters.

One of the grandkids distracts Alma long enough that Scott can laugh and press a kiss to her forehead. 

“We look like the damn Weasleys from Harry Potter.” Tessa groans, and Scott snorts. 

“I totally agree, and I promise after today we never have to wear these again. Unless mom comes over, in which case we may have to bust them out. She did spend a long time making them after all.” 

Tessa nods in agreement, because the sweaters really are a nice gesture. They’re newly married, and it was sweet of Alma to make them something matching. She just wishes maybe they’d gotten mittens or scarves instead...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading! 
> 
> If you want to chat with me about any of my fics, Tessa and Scott or just life in general please visit me on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection).


	23. 23. “I can’t believe no one has spiked the eggnog yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is day 23! 😊

Day 23: “I can’t believe no one has spiked the eggnog yet.” 

Montreal, December 2025 

“Tessa, how about some eggnog?” 

Scott looks across the crowded restaurant at Tessa. Normally he wouldn’t worry about her accepting a drink from any of the Gadbois skaters, especially seeing as they’re at a relatively formal Christmas party hosted by Marie and Patch. But, he isn’t entirely sure that the eggnog hasn’t been spiked.

That also normally wouldn’t be a problem, especially since their nearly two-year-old son has been weaned for several months. Tessa has no problem with spiked eggnog either (minus the one time in Canton, which they both have decided to forget), but alcohol in general is off the table right now with her being three months pregnant. 

“Oh, that’s alright. I’m just going to have some water since I have to drive us home tonight. Thank you though!” Tessa begs off. 

“Oh, it isn’t spiked! But hey, hydration is important too, right?” The skater jokes. 

Somehow between her charming smile and the fact that she’s holding their rather wiggly son, the skater backs off. 

Scott breathes a sigh of relief. He knows she can handle herself, but he hates seeing her be pressured. 

“Hmm. So how far along is she?” Patch asks quietly, sliding up next to him. Scott nearly chokes on his sip of wine.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Scott coughs. 

Patch side eyes him. Hard. 

“Three months.” Scott admits after a few moments of awkward silence. 

“Ha, I knew it. Congratulations.” Patch says, clapping him on the back. “I’ll do my best to keep Marie from finding out until you’re ready, but you know how she is.”

“I appreciate it.” Scott replies. Nobody can stop Marie when she senses something is amiss, and he honestly thinks she probably already knows Tessa’s pregnant. 

“Scott?” Tessa calls over to him, and Scott pats Patch on the back before walking over to her. He can hear their son whining before he even reaches her side, and he scoops him up out of her arms.

“Be good for your mama, please.” He tells his son. The little boy nods, and settles quietly on his hip.

Tessa lets out a relieved sigh. “Thank you. He wanted down, but I don’t trust him not to break something in here.”

“You dodged the drink bullet pretty well.” Scott says and she smiles at him.

“Well I tried my best, though I can’t believe no one has spiked the eggnog yet. That bowl wouldn’t have lasted five minutes back when we were skating.” They both glance at the eggnog, eyeing it for tampering with a practiced ease that came with attending years of skating parties. 

“I’m pretty sure eggnog is on the list of no-go’s for holiday foods while pregnant anyway.” Scott shrugs.

“Eggnog’s fine as long as it isn’t homemade, but I really don’t want it anyway.” Tessa says, her nose wrinkling. Her pregnancy so far was anti-egg, despite how much Tessa normally loved egg-based dishes. 

Their son reaches out his hand to pat Tessa on the cheek, and Scott uses the moment to whisper in Tessa’s ear. “So, uh, Patch knows about the baby.” 

“And how did he find out exactly?” She breathes back through a smile on her face, hiding their conversation from any prying eyes. 

“I may have looked a little nervous about you being offered possibly-spiked eggnog?” 

Tessa groans. “Scott! I had it handled.”

“I’m sorry.” He says softly. “I tried not to react but…”

She squeezes his arm and smiles. “It’s okay. I figured we’d tell Marie and Patch soon anyway. That is if they both don’t already know.”

“We know.” Marie says as she breezes past them, making her way toward the drink table. 

They both shake their heads and quietly laugh. Scott presses a quick kiss to her lips. “Well that solves that problem.”

“Zachary Lagha! Put that bottle of brandy down!” 

Scott watches over Tessa’s head as Marie takes the bottle from Zach and firmly scolds him for attempting to spike the eggnog. 

Tessa shakes her head. “Amatuers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all for reading! 
> 
> If you want to chat VM, fics, or life in general, please feel free to chat with me on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection)!


	24. 24. “You make a really terrible Santa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second to last chapter! 
> 
> I changed this prompt slightly from “You’d make a really terrible Santa” to “You make a really terrible Santa” to fit my idea. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Day 24: “You make a really terrible Santa.”

Ilderton, Christmas Day 2010

One thing Tessa hates about being a figure skater is the lack of time she has to spend with her friends and family, and Christmas is no exception. She’d just gotten home last night on Christmas Eve, and after a brief Christmas Day she was already heading back to Canton. While she was still careful with her training post-surgery and only skating for about 20 minutes a day, she was still expected back in Michigan to continue working on their programs.

Her mom had dropped her off at the Moirs so she and Scott could drive back together, and she shivers as she knocks at the door and waits for someone to answer.

“Ho ho! Merry Christmas.” Scott deadpans as he opens the door. 

Tessa can’t help but stare at him, seeing as he’s dressed in a red Santa suit and white beard. 

“Ho ho?” She frowns. “What kind of Santa are you? Everyone knows it’s ‘Ho Ho Ho.’”

Scott rolls his eyes and takes her overnight bag from her, and then offers his hand to help her over the threshold even though she doesn’t really need it. 

“I’m a great Santa, thank you.” He itches at his nose, and Tessa pulls the beard away from his nostrils.

“I don’t know many itchy Santas.” She laughs, letting the elastic snap back against his face. His hat is askew from his itching, so she reaches up to straighten it. 

Scott swats her hands away. “Stop, I look fine.”

“Yikes. You make a really terrible Santa. Do you really think this is going to convince your niece and nephew?”

Scott scoffs. “They’re both under the age of two, Tess. I think I’m plenty convincing.”

“Why is Santa coming on Christmas Day and not Christmas Eve exactly?” She asks, pulling him towards the kitchen so she can indulge in a few of Alma’s gingerbread cookies. 

“Because Santa didn’t get home from delivering presents in Canton until after the kids were in bed for the night.”

Tessa sighs. “Oh Scott…”

“It’s fine! I’m doing it now. They’ll probably hate it. It was Danny’s dumb idea anyway.” He shoves a cookie in his mouth and then pulls the beard back in place.

“No, I’m sure they’ll love it!” She tries to reassure him. “We’ve got some time, go ahead and surprise them and we can stay here for a while if you want.”

“I’ll surprise them and then we’ll leave. I don’t want to drive the whole way back in the dark.” He squeezes her hand before walking off towards the living room with a loud “Ho Ho Ho!”

Tessa sighs and nibbles on another cookie. She leans against the fridge, content to wait out Scott’s Santa act there. Alma comes around the corner into the kitchen a few minutes later, muttering about cookies and needing more icing. 

“Oh Tessa! I didn’t hear you come in!” Alma pulls her into a hug before she can even reply. 

“Hi Alma. I just got here and figured I’d grab a few of your cookies before they’re gone.” Tessa pulls back and gestures toward her plate with a half eaten cookie left. 

Alma rolls her eyes affectionately, and reaches into a cupboard and pulls out a small tin. “As if I’d send you back to Canton without some!”

“Thank you.” Tessa smiles, never one to turn down sweets. She’ll just have to ration them out over the next few weeks to avoid Igor catching on to any weight gain. 

“Here, why don’t you sit while we wait for Scott. I don’t want your legs to hurt.” Alma pulls her toward one of the old, beat up stools that have been in the kitchen as long as Tessa can remember. 

“She’s fine, mom.” Scott says from the doorway. “We have to get going anyway.”

“So soon?” Alma sighs, and Tessa hates the disappointed look that crosses over Scott’s face. 

Scott nods and hugs his mom, and Tessa gives him a sympathetic look over Alma’s shoulder. She hates this part, the goodbyes. It was hard enough with her family, let alone the gaggle of Moirs in the other room. 

“Alright, let’s hit the road Virtch.” Scott says as he pulls back, and they both ignore Alma’s misty eyes. She quickly hugs Alma, knowing if she hugs her too long they might both cry. 

-——————-

The car is silent as they drive away from Ilderton. Neither of them are in the best of moods now that they’ve actually left. She already misses her family, and watching Scott say goodbye to his made her even sadder. They’ll see most of them in the next few months, but leaving on Christmas is never easy. 

Watching Scott say goodbye to his little niece and nephew with such tenderness had made her heart ache. He was so sweet and gentle with them, and even at such young ages it was clear they loved him.

“I lied earlier.” She says softly. 

“About what?” Scott asks.

“You’d make a great Santa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your lovely comments! I truly appreciate each and everyone one. 
> 
> If you want to keep in touch after this story ends, visit me on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection).


	25. 25. “I can’t believe you did all this, for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the final chapter! 
> 
> I apologize for the gap in posting - I had no WiFi for a week and then ran out of data on my phone 🙃
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support, lovely comments and patience. I was awful about updating this story - both in December and in July - and all the wonderful comments really kept me going. 
> 
> Without further ado, here is Day 25!

Day 25: “I can’t believe you did all this, for me.” 

Ilderton, Christmas Day 2026 

“Mama, gotta go! Presents!” 

Scott groans and blinks at the clock on the bedside table. It’s 5:30 in the morning. 

“Oh buddy, lets sleep a little longer.” He hears Tessa say, her voice gravely as she pulls their son up into bed with them. 

Even though he isn’t three until March, their firstborn seems to have a pretty good understanding of what Christmas Day is all about. He pouts, and Scott reaches across Tessa to gently poke him in the belly. 

“Bud, it’s not time for presents yet.” He tells him. “Sissy isn’t awake yet.”

“Oh.” Their son replies solemnly, and settles down. Scott doesn’t always play the baby sister card, but it’s helpful when their son adores their six month old daughter seemingly more than anything. 

Tessa gives him a sleepy but relieved look, and between one blink and the next he’s passed out again.

-——————-

“Vroom! Vroom!” Their son shrieks as he races his new wooden cars around the room. He runs the cars over Scott’s legs and then up his inner thigh. Scott reaches down to redirect him to somewhere less awkward, preferably back to the floor and not next to his family jewels that have given him and Tess two beautiful kids. 

Their daughter squeals from the floor as she bangs her little fists on the colorful, plastic piano they’d gotten her. She never lets the pre-recorded songs play through, so Scott is pretty sure he’s only heard the first ten letters of the alphabet song and maybe one-fourth of Old MacDonald Had a Farm. 

To sum up the morning so far, it’s loud and it’s an _experience_.

Not to say that shipping all their presents for the kids to Ilderton, trying to fit all their clothes into two suitcases, and dealing with an inconsolable baby on the flight home weren’t experiences, but this morning is wild.

“Coffee.” Tessa presents him with a steaming cup in favorite mug. His wife is truly an angel.

“Bless you.”

Tessa laughs in response and snuggles up next to him on the couch while she can. “Oh, I forgot to give you my present!”

She hands him a wrapped square that definitely feels book-like but seems a bit big to be a normal book. He takes a careful sip of his coffee and puts it on the end table, not trusting the coffee table to be a safe place seeing as their living room is now a race track.

He unwraps the present, and feels his jaw drop when he sees what’s inside. 

“Tess.” He breathes, blinking away the tears that fill his eyes. “When did you find time to do this?”

A gorgeous scrapbook sits in his lap, the cover photo showing their smiling faces from their Christmas card photoshoot back in the fall.

“I’ve been putting it together for a few months.” She admits sheepishly. “Both our moms helped me, and using the kids’ nap times was crucial to getting it done without you knowing.” 

He flips through the pages, taking in all the photos and captions. There are pages for their engagement, wedding, both of Tessa’s pregnancies, both of their children’s births and everything in between. 

Tessa wipes away the tears that leak down his cheeks, and he puts his hand over hers.

“I can’t believe you did all this, for me.” He says. 

“We’re always so busy that I wanted to make sure we had something to look back at and enjoy.” She tells him. “I honestly forgot about some of the photos. I think between my first pregnancy and the second some of my brain turned to mush.”

“I don’t think so. If you’re brain was mushy how would you have made this beautiful scrapbook?” He leans in and kisses her, ignoring their noisy kids for a few moments. 

“Daddy, play cars!” Their son tugs on his pajama pants, and the moment is ruined. Tessa sighs against his lips and then pulls back, giving him a sweet smile. 

“Alright, give me a second buddy.” He says. Their son nods and goes back to running his cars all over the side of the couch.

“I love you.” He tells Tessa. “This is the best Christmas yet.”

“I love you too.” She leans in for another quick kiss, and then scoots off the couch to play with their daughter on the floor. 

He watches his wife with their daughter and he feels like his heart grows three sizes, even though he already had a heart much bigger than the Grinch’s. 

“Daddy!” Their son shoves a blue race car in his hand. “Come on!”

“Okay, let’s race!” Scott cheers, and as he races the car across the hardwood floor he can’t believe he’s lucky enough that this is only one of the many Christmases he’ll get to have with his family.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you all for reading. Please feel free to come interact with me on tumblr (@theannoyinglyfuriouscollection). I’d love to chat with all of you!


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